Q&A with Marty Carne, Chair, The Centrepoint Alliance Foundation
We are very pleased to announce the launch of the Centrepoint Alliance Foundation – our new charity initiative that will leverage the combined resources of our entire professional community in order to provide support for people in need.
We recently sat down with the Chair of the Foundation’s Management Committee and Centrepoint Alliance General Counsel, Marty Carne, to what the foundation hopes to achieve in its first year.
Marty, How long has the launch of the Centrepoint Alliance Foundation been in the works?
Centrepoint and its community of advice firms have been increasing their community and fundraising activities over the last few years. After seeing the joy that people get from helping others and the sense of camaraderie that comes from shared experiences we decided toformalise this through the formation of the foundation.
The first aligned charity for the foundation is beyondblue. Can you tell us more about why they were chosen?
Most of us know someone who has experienced stress, anxiety, or depression at some stage in their lives. In addition, many of us even know of people that have sadly taken their own lives. What’s even worse is knowing that many of these scenarios are manageable. So, by supporting the incredible work of beyondblue through the foundation, if we can save just one life then that will be worthwhile.
What will the foundation hope to achieve in its first 12 months?
We hope to raise $100,000 – most of which will go directly to beyondblue. But we also hope to support other charities when the opportunity arises. It’s not all about giving money. It’s also about giving time. So we hope to engage in activities that will give back to people who need it the most.
With the time pressures or work and personal lives, many professionals within our industry today find it difficult to contribute to their communities. How will the foundation help facilitate this?
We will make it easy for Centrepoint advisers and licensees to connect even more with their clients and wider networks. We will have the promotional materials available for them and provide the administrative backing, making it easy for them and their staff to get involved.
Whether they are involved a little or a lot, together, lots of little contributions will add up!
You can find out more about the Centrepoint Alliance Foundation and beyondblue via the links provided – and don’t forget to check out our recently launched foundation on Facebook for all of the latest news and events.
