Centacare Brisbane will reflect on more than 50 years of supporting families and the community with its annual Centacare Week Celebrations (November 9 – 17).
A full week of special events, an Archdiocesan Mass and fundraising activities will culminate in the annual Centacare Service Awards on November 17.
Centacare Brisbane started with only a handful of volunteers wanting to make a real difference in an area of perceived need – that of marriage counselling.
Under the watchful eye of Archbishop Duhig, those first Catholic doctors and professionals laid the foundation for what became the social services arm of the Archdiocese.
The Brisbane of 1958 didn’t even have television, yet today we can watch programs on our mobile phones. Who could have known then what the future held for our society or the way its needs and social problems would change?
Centacare Brisbane now numbers over 3200 staff and volunteers and directly touches the lives of more than 70,000 people each year, truly living out its mission statement to strengthen families and support people and communities.
The full list of Centacare Week activities is as follows:
- Monday 9 November 2009 – 10:00am Mass at the Cathedral of St Stephen followed by morning tea in the Francis Rush Centre – all staff are encouraged to attend this Mass, and to bring clients if appropriate and possible.
- Monday 9 – Wednesday 11 November 2009 – there will be an “Expo” of all Centacare Directorates, with services encouraged to provide artwork, or items that have been made by clients, or photos spanning the 50 years for inclusion in this expo. The main day for external visits to this expo is Tuesday, 10 November 2009 Staff are encouraged to come and view what is on display and to bring clients where appropriate.
- Wednesday, 11 November 2009 – A morning tea is being held for the past members of ‘Friends of Centacare’, a group of ladies who did wonderful job of fundraising for Centacare over many years.
- Thursday, 12 November 2009 is the annual PricewaterhouseCoopers ‘Cool Night Classic’ and this year Centacare is one of the two major beneficiaries of proceeds raised at the event. Staff have been encouraged to participate as ‘entrants’ in this event by registering a ‘team’ directly with PricewaterhouseCoopers; some have included clients with carers as participants. Registration of teams can be done directly to PwC through their website: www.pwc.com.au/events/coolnightclassic-brisbane
- Friday, 13 November 2009 – All services are encouraged to hold their own special ’50 Year Celebration morning tea’
- Saturday, 14 November and Sunday, 15 November 2009 The Archbishop’s Centacare Appeal weekend in parishes, with funds raised chiefly applied to pastoral ministries.
- Tuesday, 17 November 2009 The Centacare Awards Evening. All services nominate anyone who is eligible to receive a service award for 10, 20 or 25 years of service or have done something extraordinary as a ‘special mention’ in their line of duty.
Released by The Catholic Communications Office
October 30, 2009