Annual Report 2014 - Solve Disability Solutions

Solve Disability Solutions Inc.
Registration #: A0054698V
C/o Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre
1 Yarra Boulevard
Kew VIC 3101
ABN 16 294 381 734
Telephone: 03 9853 8655
or 1300 663 243
Fax: 03 9853 8098
Email: info@solve.org.au
Website: www.solve.org.au
2013 - 2014 Annual Report
contents
our stories
Sport & recreation: Jessee’s story........................
7
Everyday living activities: Mel’s story................... 10
Freedom Wheels: Anthony’s story.......................... 13
Getting out & about: Jules’ & James’ story............ 14
Enhancing education: Liam’s story........................ 17
Connecting & communicating: Kimberley’s story 18
Vocational & economic life: Frank’s story............. 20
about us
Custom making equipment to live, work & play........
4
A few words from the Chair & CEO..........................
6
Our year in review....................................................
8
Thank you................................................................ 11
Where you will find us.............................................. 15
Volunteers, members & Friends of Solve................. 16
Our organisation....................................................... 19
our vision
To improve the independence
and quality of life of people with
disabilities.
our values
Service: We work together to enable
people with disabilities to achieve
their goals.
Outcomes: We provide innovative,
our mission
To solve equipment related
problems faced by people with
disabilities, of all ages, through
the design, construction or
modification of equipment
where the need cannot be met
commercially.
quality outcomes.
Listening: We respect people and
take time to listen and respond to
their needs.
Volunteerism: We value time and
skills freely given.
Ethics: We plan and manage our
resources responsibly and ethically.
Custom making equipment to enable you to live, work & play
Solve achieves its mission through the:
• designing and modification of equipment otherwise commercially unavailable
• modification of commercially available equipment
• provision of specialist technical advice and information, and referral to other
services able to assist when we cannot.
Freedom Wheels Modified Bicycle Program
Giving independence to children
and adults with disabilities, by
enabling them to ride a bike, often
for the first time.
Everyday living activities
Anthony’s story, pg 13
Enabling people to have greater
independence or quality of life
around the home.
Vocational & economic life
Increasing employment
opportunities by providing
advice and equipment
to assist in all aspects of
employment.
Mel’s story, pg 10
Sport & recreation
Enabling people to participate
in sport, craft, leisure activities,
and so much more.
Frank’s story, pg 20
Connecting & communicating
Jessee’s story, pg 5
Getting out & about
Assisting people to access their
community and beyond.
Jules’ & James’ story, pg 14
Enabling people to
make connections and
communicate with others in
their community.
Enhancing education
Providing the equipment
necessary to enable people
to fully access education,
from kindergarten to tertiary
level.
Kimberley’s story, pg 18
Liam’s story, pg 17
A few words from the Chair and CEO
and volunteers who work together to make one
off solutions. While the impact of the projects
is harder to measure objectively, we know the
personal stories and have shared a few with
you throughout this annual report.
This annual report proudly celebrates the
achievements and outcomes of the people
living with disability that Solve Disability
Solutions has worked with over the past 12
months.
Delivering unique equipment solutions
continues to be our focus, with 628 projects
completed this financial year for over 700
people with disabilities, enabling:
100 clients, from 3 to 65 years, to explore
cycling options through the Freedom
Wheels Modified Bike Program and other
cycling projects.
244 clients and carers to complete everyday
household and personal care tasks, such as
gardening, food preparation and assisting
parents to care for their children.
122 clients to have improved access to
their community with modifications to
wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility
equipment.
103 projects to be completed, in addition
to our cycling projects, to enable people to
pursue recreational activities of their choice.
50 education projects to be completed
for students attending preschool, primary,
secondary and tertiary institutions.
However, these numbers tell little of the needs
of people living with disability and the creativity,
knowledge and skills of project coordinators
4
The stories highlight the outcomes of our
work and the impact equipment has had
on the lives of people with disabilities in the
following key areas of our work: Freedom
Wheels Modified Bicycle Program, Connecting
and communicating, Getting out and about,
Vocational and economic life, Sport and
recreation and Enhancing education.
Strategically, the board reviewed the three year
plan and updated the business plan to focus
our efforts on four key areas:
1. SERVICE: Our services meet clients’ needs
to a high standard.
2. PEOPLE: Staff and volunteers are the right
fit and well trained and supported.
3. PROFILE: Solve’s services are promoted
effectively.
4. OPERATIONS: Solve is a sustainable
organisation
Finally, we take this opportunity to thank
staff and volunteers for their contribution and
commitment in 2014, and look forward to the
challenges and opportunities of 2015. We
would also like to recognise the contributions
made to the Board by both Catherine Miller
and Craig Sidebottom, who have both resigned
during the year due to other commitments. We
welcome Barbara Doyle and Andrew Laing as
new Board members and look forward to their
support of both the Board and our organisation.
John McKeown
Board Chairman
Sport & Recreation: Jessee’s story
Solve is excited to be helping
Jessee realise his dream
of becoming a paralympic
discus and shotput thrower.
In Jessee’s paralympic
classification, the discus and
shot put are thrown from a
seated position, but Jessee’s
existing seat was heavy and
cumbersome. Volunteer Bill
Morling designed and built
a lighter, more compact
and portable seat that gives
Jessee a competitive edge.
An adjustable holding post
and foot stirrups, and a
collapsible frame, are just
some of the features that
make Jessee’s new light
guage stainless steel seat
easier to use, while nonstretch webbing for his lap
and feet straps ensures
Jessee complies with the
rule that competitors not lose
contact with the seat when
they complete their throw.
Jessee took delivery of the
chair in time for the national
championships. He scored
personal bests in discus and
shotput. What a great result!
Fiona Still
Chief Executive Officer
5
Our year in review
A special resolution to change our
name from TADVIC to Solve Disability
Solutions is passed by our members.
We believe our new name will help us to
reach more people who can benefit from
our service.
July
Dedicated volunteers throughout
Victoria, like Peter from East
Gippsland (above), continue to
donate their time and skills to
provide equipment solutions to
enable people to participate more
fully in all aspects of life.
6
Our year in review
A $10,000 grant received
from the Marian & EH Flack
Trust provides training for
volunteers & staff at our
regional branches.
August
Volunteers Geoff & Rick
run the Solve stand at the
Boroondara Volunteer
Expo. Volunteers have
been hard at work all year
promoting our service at
expos around the state.
We launch our new name
across Victoria. Our
mailout volunteers send
out over 3000 letters
informing individuals and
organisations that use
our service, of our name
change.
September
Jules & James don’t let muscular
dystrophy stop them seeing the
world. Seen here outside Notre
Dame, Paris, towing the luggage
trailers, designed by volunteer
John Wilson, that enabled them to
transport their equipment through
airports, hotels & train stations.
Solve have a stall at the
Australian Men’s Shed
Association national
conference. It proves
a good opportunity to
promote our services and
recruit volunteers.
October
Over 100 guests battle
it out at the Solve
Trivia Night, held at the
Northcote Town Hall to
celebrate our new name.
Riders complete the inaugural Chain
Reaction Women’s Challenge ride
covering 300km in 3 days. As the sole
charity partner, all of the $57,000 raised
by participants, goes towards our
Freedom Wheels program. Thank you!
November
Members attend the Solve
AGM and Volunteer Branch
Day, held at the beautiful
Fairfield Boat Sheds.
Our highly successful modified
cricket kit, developed in
partnership with Scope, is
revamped to make it more
compact and portable. Over
10 more kits have been made
and purchased by many Scope
branches in Victoria, becoming an
integral part of their recreational
program.
December
A $10,000 grant received from
the Collier Foundation provides
funding to assist with the provision
of educational aids, so children like
Arianna can continue to learn, play
and thrive at school.
7
“
Our year in review
Our Freedom Wheels
modified bike program
continues to grow with
a 60% increase in
referrals for the first half
of the year.
Simon, Troy & Tim from
our valued supporters,
Total Rush Cycling,
present our Freedom
Wheels program with
a cheque for $4000 - a
donation that followed
the celebration of their
revamped store in
Richmond.
Our year in review
Volunteers Stuart
Anderson and Philippa
Fraser, and project
coordinator Ingrid Maine,
hit the airwaves of 3WBC
Community Radio to
promote our service.
We run two
induction sessions
to welcome our
new volunteer
recruits.
The Freedom Wheels
team travel to Barwon
and Central Gippsland to
hold assessment clinics
for children in the area.
Our volunteers feature
in local community
newspapers to
celebrate National
Volunteers Week,
generating a lot of
interest amongst
readers.
The Jack Brockhoff
Foundation provides
a $10,000 grant to
develop cycling options
for children with severe
disabilities.
A partnership is developed
between Solve and
product development
services organisation,
Planet Innovation. The
benefits of this partnership
include access to on-site
workshops and technical
expertise.
”
January
An exciting partnership
between Solve, the
Ballarat East Community
Men’s Shed and United
Way Ballarat, sees the
revival of our Ballarat
branch. A period of
inactivity had left a
big gap in our service
provision in the region.
8
February
We say farewell to Board
Chairman Catherine
Miller, who returned to her
home town of Brisbane.
Good luck Catherine,
and thank you to John
McKeown who replaces
Catherine as Chairman.
Welcome also to our new
board members Andrew
Laing & Barb Doyle.
March
Long standing Peninsula
volunteer, Nigel Thacker,
retires after 16 years
of volunteering for
Solve and more than
70 completed projects.
What an impressive
record!
April
Congratulations to
volunteer Adam Trudgen
on receiving the Box HIll
Rotary Club Award for the
best 2nd year apprentice
at Box Hill Institute.
May
Sport was the focus of
our Volunteer Branch
Day, with inspirational
and entertaining
paralympian guest
speakers Sam Bramham
(swimming) and Naz
Erdim (above, wheelchair
rugby).
June
A second car simulator is
built & delivered to Austin
Repat Hospital to enable
them to demonstrate car
transfer techniques to hip
replacement patients.
9
Thank you
After a typically busy work day,
home is a place for Mel to relax on
her own or with friends. Pouring
herself, or her guests, a glass
of wine, was impossible without
assistance and something she
really missed. Our volunteer,
Andrew Marminc, came up with
a pivotting bottle tipper for Mel
which she
is ableedge:
to position
Competitve
Below, and
Jessee’s old competition
was
use independently.
“Theseat
wine
heavy and cumbersome. Right,
tipper was a roaring success at
Jessee competes at the National
my next dinner party!” says Mel,
Championships using the new seat
“Thank you again Andrew for
coming up with such a wonderful
invention”.
Without our volunteers, corporate partners, private donors, foundations and trusts,
we could not do the work we do. This support becomes more important as we strive
to meet our clients’ needs.
Victorian Government
Department of Human Services (Main Operational Grant)
Solve Disability Solutions
acknowledges the support of
the Victorian Government
Bequests
Estate of Ern & Les Rothschild
Trusts
Corporate
Community Groups
Chain Reaction Challenge Foundation
Estate of the Late Edward Wilson
Colliers Charitable Fund
Geelong Community Fund
Give Where You Live - Geelong
Ian Potter Foundation
Jack Brockhoff Foundation
Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation
Marian & EH Flack Trust
Pierce Armstrong Foundation
The Sentinel Foundation
WCF Thomas Charitable Trust
Brenald Pty Ltd
Coatesville Uniting Church
CWA Bendigo
CWA Mortlake
CWA Toongabbie
Goldman Sachs Australia
JBWere Pty Ltd
LINAK Pty Ltd
Melcro Electrics Pty Ltd
National Australia Bank
Rockit Barber Shop
Telstra
Total Rush Cycling
Workplace Giving
Goldman Sachs Australia Employees
JB Were Employees
Origin Energy Employees
Solterbeck Employees
Telstra Employees
Supporters
Everyday living activities: Mel’s story
After a typically busy work day, home is a place for Mel to relax on her own or with
friends. Pouring herself, or guests, a glass of wine was impossible without assistance,
and something she really wanted to do. Our volunteer, Andrew Marminc, came up with a
pivotting bottle tipper for Mel that she can position and use independently. “The wine tipper
was a roaring success at my next dinner party!” says Mel, “Thank you again Andrew for
coming up with such a wonderful invention”.
10
ABC Cutting Industries , Seaford
ADL Resources
Aluminium Trade Centre, Clayton
AMCO Gymnastics, Clayton
Amici e Bici
Bearing Wholesalers, Dandenong
Blackwell IXL, Geelong
Central Kitchens, Bendigo
Cycle Across Oz
Cycling Tips
David Falkingham
David Pearce
Exhaust Bros, North Geelong
Fallshaw Wheels & Castors
Fibreglass Transport Equipment P/L
Handyman Steel Supplies, Moorabbin
Handy Steel Stocks, West Heidelberg
Hinge-Fit Pty Ltd
LINAK Australia
L.M.E. Pty Ltd, Clayton South
Marksman Plastics Pty Ltd, Reservoir
Masters Home Improvements, Oakleigh South
Navascues Upholstery, Preston
North East Industrial Supplies, Heidelberg West
Pick-A-Part, Kilsyth
Plasmac, Huntingdale
Planet Innovation
Ray Hudson
Robot Building Supplies, Preston
Total Rush Cycling
Ungar Metals, Chadstone
Warragul Steel Sales, Warragul
11
Personal Donors
Barry Aarons
Richard Aarons
Don Allison
Stuart Anderson
Fiona Archer
Neville Armstrong
Judy Austin
Adel Barcha
Boz Bican
Doug Birchall
Shirley Booth
David Boyles
John Brown
Helen Bruinier
Amalia Buckerfield
Anne Campbell
Harry Carlin-Smith
Mark Carrington
John Catchpole
Shirley Catchpole
Peter Cawood
Danielle Chaffey
Mr. L. Christian
June Christiansen
Ken Cook
Don Cooper
Ron Cooper
Ian Cross
(donations of more than $2 are tax deductible)
Pam Davies
Margaret Dean
Eoin Dillon
Barbara Doyle
Ian Duff
Judith D`Abbs
Merinda Epstein
Doug Faram
Bruce Foster
John Hackett
Bruce Haines
Sue Hallenstein
Boyd & Elva Hando
Mary Hansford
Pollianna Harkness
Hedley Hatch
Allan Hau
Kate Herd
Judy Hogan
Barbara Horniblow
Golda Isaac
Kathryn Ivey
Maree Kinniburgh
Anura Kumarasiri
Patricia Kun
Max Lay
Helen Lind
Merle Littlejohn
Terry Lyons
Barbara Maclean
Renate Manntz
Tom Martin
Penny Matthews
Margaret Maunsell
Lesley Maxwell
Peter McGowan
Doug McIver
Doug McKern
Angus McNab
Merle McRae
Paul McVitty
Philip Merton
Catherine Miller
Victor Miller
Neil Morrey
Bruce Morrison
Evan Newnham
Kaye Nixon
Merle Parker
Steve Pattinson
Linda Paulke
Rosslyn Pickhaver
Alan Preacher
David Price
Ian Proctor
Mrs Corinne Robin
Tim Rowley
Elizabeth Ryan
Hilton Sack
Nicole Saleeba
Norman Saunders
Joel Schachter
Lynda Shaw
Meenambika Shriram
Ian Sonnemann
Gitta Steinfeld
Beryl Stretton
Alan & Rosemary Stringer
Marie Stripp
John Tagg
Filomena Tassone
Phillip Tannenbaum
Wendy Taylor
Dawn Tischler
Tim Tu
Peter Van Rooy
Helen Vaughan
John Wilson
Sharon Woods
Phoenicia & Jessee Wyatt
Hank Wyllie
Michael Yap
Antonietta Zampolli
Donations in memory of Jan Billings
Employees of Slater & Gordon
20 plus club
We congratulate and thank the following volunteers/staff for more than 20 years of dedicated service.
Alan Boyd (Barwon)
Harry Carlin-Smith (Metropolitan)
Brian Catchpole (Metropolitan)
Lionel Curtis (E. Gippsland)
Judith D’Abbs (Peninsula)
Margaret Dean (Metropolitan)
Mark Dohrmann (Metropolitan)
Kevin Eckhardt (E. Gippsland)
Jenny Eckhardt (E. Gippsland)
12
Graham Goeby (Metropolitan)
Jack Harriott (Barwon)
Liz Irwin (Sunraysia)
David Kneebone (C. Gippsland)
Tom Martin (E. Gippsland)
Clive Morgan (Sunraysia)
Bill Morling (Metropolitan)
Bernie O’Dea (Metropolitan)
Stan Proctor (Peninsula)
Lorraine Roberts (Sunraysia)
Ted Roberts (Sunraysia)
Howard Rowlston (Metropolitan)
Merrilyn Shepherd (Metropolitan)
Henry Van Ginkel (Metropolitan)
Don Wakefield (C. Gippsland)
Neville Waldron (Metropolitan)
Richard Ziegeler (South West)
Freedom Wheels: Anthony’s story
For eight year old Anthony’s mum, Freedom Wheels has made her son and family’s dream a
reality. “Anthony is in awe of his bike and loves the freedom of riding.”
Anthony’s disabilities have made it difficult for his family to get out, but with younger
brother, Sebastian, wanting to be outdoors, the family turned to our Freedom Wheels
program to see if a bike could be modified to enable Anthony and Sebastian to ride together.
The Freedom Wheels team created a bike that Anthony can ride with steering assistance
from his mum and dad. “Sebastian is ever so thankful”, says mum, “because he and
Anthony can now do things together. The smiles on their faces are priceless.”
13
Getting out & about: Jules’ & James’ story
Where you will find us
Solve Disability Solutions is a volunteer-based organisation dedicated to assisting people
living with disabilities throughout Victoria. Our central office is based in Melbourne, with
branches located in many regional centres across the state.
Sunraysia
Volunteer meeting,
Sunraysia
Bendigo
East Gippsland br
anch meet to shar
e
ideas.
East Gippsland
Ballarat
South West
Barwon
Melbourne
Peninsula
Travelling light is not an option for brothers, Jules and James, so we helped them transport
their luggage on the trip of a lifetime. Significant physical restrictions due to Duchenne’s
Muscular Dystrophy, mean Jules and James require a host of additional equipment wherever
they go, including a commode chair, hoist, ramp, respirators, monitors, spare batteries and
chargers.
Volunteer John Wilson built two 3-wheeled trailers that attach quickly and neatly to the back
of their powered wheelchairs. The trailers enabled Jules and James to negotiate airports, train
stations and hotels all over Europe, and helped make their dream of overseas travel possible.
Volunteer teamwork at
our Barwon bike clinic.
ers out
Peninsula volunte
& about
Central
Gippsland
South Gippsland
Volunteer team, Cent
ral Gippsland
Volunteers, Members & Friends of Solve
Barry Aarons
Alan Aiton
Don Allison
Michael Anderson
Owen Anderson
Stuart Anderson
Chaitanya Annamneedi
Neville Armstrong
Raymond Atkins
Donald Auld
Geoff Baird
Fred Baker
Leslie Bennett
Michael Bentvelzen
Tony Bidwell
Judith Blair
Robin Blair
Alan Boyd
Joy Brand
Peter Brand
Geoffrey Broadbent
Ralph Brown
Helen Bruinier
William Burns
Donald Carter
Jarryd Caruana
Brian Catchpole
Leicester Cheeseman
Kevin Christians
June Christiansen
Norman Cook
Roger Cornell
Trevor Coulter
Margaret Crocker
Terry Crosby
Ian Cross
Larry Crowley
Lionel Curtis
Judith D`Abbs
Robert Davie
Tom Davies
Margaret Dean
16
Glenda Devlin
Mark Dohrmann
Bill Dooley
Ray Downes
Barbara Doyle
Peter Doyle
Ian Duff
David Dumble
Dorothy Duncan
Stan Duncan
Denise Dunn
Jenny Eckhardt
Kevin Eckhardt
Ken Endacott
Douglas Faram
Don Fergusson
Robin Fergusson
Peter Foden
Carol Foot
Alex Forbes
Grant Forest
Mike Forwood
Philippa Fraser
Roy Galey
Robert Gault
Brian George
Peter Gibbs
Arthur Gibson
Diane Goetze
Brian Gray
Robert Gray
Michael Gregory
Alan Grimes
Robert Hall
Bertil Hallenrud
Sue Hallenstein
Bill Hallett
John Hansen
Jack Harriott
John Harris
Richard Hart
Leanne Hassan
Michael Hassett
Hedley Hatch
Allan Hau
Anthony Healy
Graeme Hemley
Richard Hodgson
Geoff Hook
Philip Hooker
Duncan Hopkins
Barbara Horniblow
David Hubbard
Liz Irwin
Ken Joseph
Peter Kay
Harris Kehne
Richard Kickbush
Laurie King
David Kneebone
Jo Knowles
Matthew Koadlow
Andrew Laing
Michael Lavery
Mark Lazarovits
Maurice Lean
Glenis Littlejohn
Max Lloyd
Paul Lucas
Bryan Mackenzie
John Makinson
William Maloney
Andrew Marminc
Tom Martin
Bruce Mathieson
Craig & Vanessa
McCallum
Linton McDonald
Edward McGain
Peter McGowan
John McKeown
Doug McKern
Angus McNab
Kay McNeill
Janet McPhie
Carol Membrey
Brian Middleton
Mildura EI Services
Sam Mitchell
Clive Morgan
Lynette Morgan
Bill Morling
Bruce Morrison
Frank Mullins
Tom Murray
Patrick Navascues
Evan Newnham
John Nicholson
Jeffrey Nocker
Bernie O`Dea
Richard O`Keefe
Michael Paterson
George Paynter
David Pearce
Ray Peers
Philip Pilgrim
Vince Pirrottina
Alan Preacher
Robin Prem
Stan Proctor
Martin Quinn
Glenn Read
Justin Reeves
Jacky Reisenhofer
Beverley Reynolds
Bruce Reynolds
Anthony Richards
Janet Richards
Lorraine Roberts
Lynton Roberts
Ted Roberts
Mrs Corinne Robin
David Robinson
Heather Robson
Jack Rogers
Tim Rowley
Howard Rowlston
Simon Russell
Matthew Sanakiewicz
Graeme Sargeant
Laurence Sartori
Norman Saunders
Salvatore Scacco
Deborah Schmetzer
Saeed Seifmohammadi
Graham Seppings
Garrick Sheather
Mark Shelley
Viktor Sheludko
Merrilyn Shepherd
Lilian Smeaton
Neville Smith
Paul Smith
Frederick Syer
John Tagg
Robert Taylor
Kent Teese
Andrew Ternouth
Arthur Tivendale
Van Tran
Alex Triantafillidis
Adam Trudgen
Shauna Tupper
Troy Upfield
Henry van Ginkel
Peter Van Rooy
Don Wakefield
Meryl Waldron
Neville Waldron
Graham Wallis
Gilbert Wignall
Len Williams
John Wilson
Peter Wood
Charles Zhang
Enhancing education: Liam’s story
Liam is in year 11 at secondary school and is studying Outdoor Education. When the school
organised a cross cross country skiing trip, Solve volunteer Gil Wignall made sure Liam
could participate. Liam was born without the lower part of his left arm, so to compensate for
his missing forearm and hand, Gil removed the handle of a ski pole and replaced it with a
hinged gutter frame to support Liam’s upper arm and elbow. He combined this with a clever
snap coupling system that ensures the gutter is released from the pole quickly and safely if
Liam falls over.
The camp was a great success with plenty of thrills, spills and adventure - and Liam missed
out on none of it.
17
Connecting & communicating: Kimberley’s story
Our Organisation
Volunteers
100
Re
Me
80
Solve Disability Solutions has 173 active volunteers located
throughout metropolitan and regional Victoria. The majority of our
volunteers have engineering or trade backgrounds and use their
technical skills for project work, or as members of our Freedom
Wheels team assisting with bike clinics and assembly. Our nontechnical volunteers include board members and administrative
volunteers.
60
40
Metro
(78)
Regional
(95)
20
0
Volunteers by location
Other
Freedom
Occupational
Therapy Wheels
Other
Teaching
Farming
(incl.
trade teaching)
Engineering
Farming
Occupational
Therapy
Trades
Volunteers by occupation
Non-technical
Teaching
Trade
Project Volunteers
Engineering
Volunteers by role
Board of Directors
John McKeown - Chairman
Mark Dohrmann - Deputy Chairman
Ian Duff - Treasurer
Geoff Baird
Barbara Doyle
Andrew Laing
Catherine Miller (until Mar 2014)
Craig Sidebottom (until June 2014)
Staff
As well as being a devoted pet, Kimberley’s little terrier is a service dog, trained to notify her
when she is about to have a seizure. This makes them inseparable companions, both inside
and outside the home. Kimberley was having difficulty using her new powered wheelchair
and controlling her dog at the same time. Solve volunteer Peter Doyle, made a tray that can
be mounted in front of the wheelchair, so that Kimberley’s dog can see and alert her to an
oncoming episode.
Being able to have her little service dog with her at all times gives Kimberley the mobility
and confidence to get out into the community.
18
Chief Executive Officer
Fiona Still
Business Services
Sue Lyddieth
Rosemary Nolan
Patsy Moloney
Jenny Stephen
OT Project Coordinators & Allied Health Assistant
Ewan Hanmer, Barwon
Rachel Schlipalius, Peninsula
Anne Collins, Central Gippsland Richard Ziegeler, South West
Ingrid Maine, Metropolitan
Martine Porter, Freedom Wheels
Joan Ryan, Metropolitan
Di Stewart, Freedom Wheels
19
Vocational & economic life: Frank’s story
20
Location and visibility are the key to maximising sales. Big Issue magazine vendor,
Frank, had the location side of things all wrapped up - a prime spot in the heart of
Melbourne’s CBD - but no way of displaying his magazine to prospective buyers.
An elevated transparent magazine holder that connects to the back of his powered
wheelchair resolved that issue. The holder, made by Solve volunteer Geoff Baird, fits a
single copy of the magazine and displays both sides prominently above Frank’s head
making it easily visible to people walking past. Add Frank’s engaging personality into
the mix, and sales success seems assured.