I remember meeting Paul and Glenice in 2018, at a CatholicCare event for donors held at the Catholic Leadership Centre in East Melbourne. I was standing outside admiring the lovely buildings, when Glenice mentioned that the Catholic Leadership Centre was once the site of St John the Evangelist School and that she had attended there as a child.
“I was at St Johns from 1946 (prep) until 1953,” said Glenice. “We lived in Abbotsford, and I still remember crossing Hoddle Street every day to get to school.”
Fast forward to 2020 and I am now speaking to Glenice and Paul over the phone; COVID-19 restrictions have meant cancelling all donor events but I am delighted to have the opportunity to chat with (perhaps) our longest serving donors.
Paul and Glenice have been donating to CatholicCare for over 45 years. Paul even took the time to retrieve his old tax records to confirm the date of their first donation ($20 in June 1975)!
“Time just seems to whizz by so quickly,” says Paul. “I was an accountant and while I didn’t have the skill to help, I was happy to share what I earned to help those families who weren’t so fortunate. My philosophy at the time was: if I can’t be physically involved, then at least I can donate.”
“It was the name that drew me: Catholic Family Welfare Bureau. It was that emphasis on helping the Catholic family – and we’re talking about a time when families were larger than they are today – and some of them were really struggling.”
“I was also attracted to the values of the Catholic Family Welfare Bureau – there were a lot of charities around, but I liked that the Bureau were focusing on looking after people here at home.”
I asked whether there were any particular programs that they admired – and they singled out our Pre-marriage education courses, recalling that they had attended the Pre-Cana Conferences sponsored by the YCW before marrying in September 1963.
57 years and five children later, Paul and Glenice are still happily married (which perhaps shows the value of marriage preparation courses, such as those that CatholicCare provides today).
Paul and Glenice on their wedding day in 1963, and more recently (still smiling!)
As with most people, COVID-19 is having an impact. One daughter has recently been retrenched, and they worry for their granddaughter who is completing Year 12 in a most challenging year. Their retirement fund has also taken a hit – but that has not stopped Paul from increasing his commitment to the charities he supports.
“There’s no pockets in shrouds,” laughs Paul, shrugging off any praise for their philanthropy. “We are just ordinary people doing ordinary things. We like to do what we can, where we can.”
That may be so, but at CatholicCare, we are deeply grateful for donors like Paul and Glenice, whose long-term commitment has played an important role in helping us to reach the extraordinary milestone of 85 years of serving the community.
Bernadette Garcia | Executive Manager Communications, Fundraising and Marketing
“I was an accountant and while I didn’t have the skill to help, I was happy to share what I earned to help those families who weren’t so fortunate”
Paul
Donor of over 45 years
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