Our annual Foundation Day was a resounding success!

Nelson Alexander’s Foundation Day was held on Saturday, 29th May. Foundation Day is the major annual fundraiser of the Nelson Alexander Charitable Foundation, which benefits local charities and community groups within our business footprint.

Each of our sixteen offices donated the professional fee from the sale of a property to a chosen local charity.

Albeit a little different this year, with auctions held over zoom instead of on the street, our team worked extra hard to ensure it was still a resounding success!

We are thrilled to announce that this was our biggest Foundation Day yet, raising $289,837 for our local community.

We can only achieve results like these with your ongoing support and we thank you for providing us with the opportunity to do so.

Ascot Vale Free Little Pantry

Office: Ascot Vale

Auction Property: 11 Geddes Street, Ascot Vale

Donation: $11,590

The Ascot Vale Little Free Pantry is a grassroots community-led initiative that addresses food insecurity. It operates on the principle of 'take what you need - give what you can'.

Along with addressing food insecurity in the local neighbourhood, the pantry provides a place where community connections are made.

When needed, the pantry has provided anonymity, is judgment-free, a place where personal choice is allowed and a place to help neighbours in need.

LifeChanger Foundation

Office: Brunswick

Auction Property: 80 De Carle Street, Brunswick

Donation: $16,500, this donation will be matched by Macquarie Bank boosting the funds raised to $33,000.

LifeChanger's mission is to empower young people by providing the resources, skills, education and pathway they need to develop a positive self-identity, self-awareness and resilience.

The challenges young people face today are unprecedented and confronting. Mental health, anxiety, bullying, obesity, self-harm, drug and alcohol abuse and addiction present a challenging landscape for all families.

LifeChanger offers a pre-emptive program that engages with youth, teachers, parents and local mentors, connecting them to help build a sustainable village of support.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital Foundation

Office: Carlton North Office

Auction Property: 33 Park Drive, Parkville

Donation: $25,000

Enhancing patient experience and care within the Royal Melbourne Hospital Emergency Department via replacing all waiting room seating.

As one of the busiest Emergency Departments in Australia, where on average 80,000 patients are treated each year, there is an urgent need to respond to patient health and safety within the waiting area.

Coburg Lions FIDA Football Club

Office: Coburg Office

Auction Property: 1A Devon Avenue, Coburg

Donation: $12,900

Coburg Fida has supported people with an intellectual disability to play Australian rules footy for over ten years. The Club applied for funding to allow them to grow and include more young people.

The funding will assist them with uniforms, equipment, player registration fees, transportation and giving players more significant opportunities to share their skills and experiences with other teams. It will also allow higher functioning players to represent their state in the Inclusion Carnival.

Bluearth Foundation

Office: Commercial Office

Auction Property: Fixed Sale/Lease Fee

Donation: $10,000

Bluearth aspires to give children the chance to live their best lives. Their mission is to help Australians live better and live longer by making moving with competence and confidence a part of everyday life.

Schools are the ideal setting for this intervention; Bluearth's 'Active Schools' program effectively increases children's physical activity levels and is evidence-based to benefit children's academic outcomes and health and wellbeing. Their program focuses on physical literacy and consists of physical activity, mindfulness, and reflection activities.

Lung Foundation Australia - Young Lungs Project

Office: Docklands Office

Auction Property: Fixed Sale/Lease Fee

Donation: $10,000

This project’s aim is to specifically develop, distribute and promote an information resource to patients and their parents/carers coming to Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) for urgent medical consultation/treatment for childhood rare lung disease (RLD).

The project will produce an up-to-date resource addressing the information and support needs for these patients to significantly reduce the stress and confusion that comes with diagnosis and hospitalisation due to RLD.

Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria

Office: Essendon Office

Auction Property: 111 Ogilvie Street, Essendon

Donation: $13,636

Blind Sports & Recreation Victoria (BSRV) provides opportunities for blind or vision impaired people to lead active lifestyles through sport and recreation.

Supporting people with vision loss of all ages, cultural backgrounds, religions and genders, one of their missions is to reduce the social isolation that people who are blind or vision impaired can experience due to the nature of their disability.

We are supporting two specific activity programmes:

• Blind Judo in Strathmore Heights
• Trampolining at Bounce in Essendon Fields

Centre For Projection Art

Office: Fitzroy Office

Auction Property: 24 Barkly Street, Fitzroy North

Donation: $37,875

The Centre for Projection Art is an independent, community-based arts organisation dedicated to the development and presentation of contemporary projection and operate from the Collingwood Yards arts precinct.

We are supporting the INTERSTELLAR SUPERHEROES project. The project that will be run as a free after school activity from The Cubbies provides a unique platform for the Atherton Gardens Housing Estate children to engage with their peers and create a large-scale public artwork to share with their community.

Kensington branch of the Melbourne Community Toy Library

Office: Flemington Office

Auction Property: 97 Princes Street, Flemington

Donation: $21,600

The Toy Library is like a book library providing toys to many families living in the area and is a beneficial resource for those living in flats with limited space to store toys.

The Toy Library needs to relocate due to renovations at the YMCA, and with approximately 1000 toys to move, the library applied for funding to buy new storage shelves.

Austin Health Foundation

Office: Ivanhoe Office

Auction Property: 1/12 Fay Street, Heidelberg

Donation: $17,872

Austin Health's Child & Youth Mental Health Service (CYMHS) is a state-wide service that provides comprehensive care and treatment to some of Victoria's most vulnerable children aged 0 – 13 years, experiencing psychiatric, psychological, and behavioural problems.

Their services assist children and young people with support by providing a mental health assessment, early intervention and intensive inpatient treatment within a safe environment to support and promote a better health trajectory.

Children's Cancer Foundation

Office: Keilor East Office

Auction Property: 11 Church Street, Keilor

Donation: $25,500

The Children's Cancer Foundation supports game-changing cancer research projects aiming to eliminate children's cancer while ensuring children in hospitals have access to the best possible and latest proven treatments.

Funding generated via Foundation Day will be directed to brain cancer research in memory of Marcus Rosin.

Koala Kids

Office: Kew Office

Auction Property: 2/143-145 Peel Street, Kew

Donation: $10,899 - this donation is being matched by Suncorp, boosting the funds to $21,798 enabling Koala Kids to purchase 439 Smash cakes for children and young people celebrating their birthdays during cancer treatment.

Koala Kids is a volunteer-driven organisation that provides small things that make a difference for children and young people during cancer treatment, including their families and healthcare team.

They aim to touch more than 520 young people from birth to 25 years diagnosed each year and more than 1,500 that remain in long term treatment by providing them with happy moments to distract them from the pain and boredom associated with cancer treatment.

Guide Dogs Victoria

Office: Northcote Office

Auction Property: 50 Fulham Road, Alphington

Donation: $41,829

This donation has enabled Nelson Alexander Northcote to sponsor a guide dog from birth, through 18 months of training and then hopefully assignment to a person living with low vision or blindness. The Northcote office have named their puppy Marley and we look forward to sharing her journey with you.

Each year, Guide Dogs Victoria matches talented Guide Dogs with people living with blindness or low vision. Guide Dogs create profound change for people with low vision or blindness by offering a perfect blend of independence and companionship.

They offer independence through safety and travel techniques learned in the intensive Guide Dog training program. They offer companionship and confidence through the powerful bond shared with the person they are matched with.

Funding will be used to equip qualified Guide Dogs with the necessary items to begin their working life.

North West Multiple Births Club

Office: Pascoe Vale Office

Donation: $9,100

North West Multiple Births Club supports parents of multiples, twins, triplets and quads in the North West region of Melbourne. The Club is operated by a group of volunteers who are parents of multiples themselves. They provide support through social gatherings, playgroups and resources such as a book library. They also offer a helping hand with meal drops in the first challenging weeks (or months!), provide support via counselling, and provide courses targeted at specific topics such as post-natal mental health and sleep settling.

Foundation Day financial support will go a long way towards buying resources for their playgroups, provide online courses, and allow them to host social gatherings.

Preston High School

Office: Preston Office

Auction Property: 64 Locksley Avenue, Reservoir

Donation: $12,116

Foundation Day will generate funds to support six year 9 students representing Preston High School at the Schools for Student Leadership (SSL). As part of this program, students attend a 9-week intensive leadership school to develop skills required to lead and inspire their community.

The students are planning a Community Learning Project (CLP) to address transport and the environment in the local community. They want to focus on strategies that improve the quality of bike paths and encourage community members to consider environmentally friendly alternative ways to travel.

Reservoir East Primary School – Community Garden

Office: Reservoir Office

Auction Property: 26 Coleman Crescent, Reservoir

Donation: $13,418

In 2019 a community garden was established on the grounds of Reservoir East Primary School. Working with teachers, parents and residents, they have established a small productive kitchen garden for the school children to learn about food production and garden skills.

They are now adding to this a pollination garden and a fruit orchard. They will use our funding to construct an outdoor learning space, including a sheltered area with decking, bench seats, and sinks.

For more information on our Charitable Foundation, and how to apply for a grant, please click here.