Article from 2021/2022 Impact of Giving Annual Report
The Immediate Past President of The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Auxiliaries, Dr Miriam (Mim) Weisz OAM has created a lasting legacy with this formidable group of fundraisers. Not only has she led them into their centenary year, a special milestone achieved in 2022, Mim also supported the Auxiliaries through the COVID-19 pandemic and established her own Auxiliary – the President’s Fundraising Network.
Mim was appointed President of the Auxiliaries in 2016 after a longstanding connection with the RCH. During this time, Mim was a strong leader, working tirelessly to ensure the strength, connection and legacy of this vibrant network, and with her at the helm, the Auxiliaries remained committed to their mission: one team working together towards one goal – making sick kids better.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Mim helped the Auxiliaries to adapt and innovate, keeping members connected and fundraising throughout the pandemic. She worked with the RCH Foundation to introduce the RCH Gratitude Hub Online Store, which opened up the Auxiliaries to a wider market. She also helped initiate a range of innovative digital fundraising campaigns for the Auxiliaries, which have been incredibly successful.
Mim has also been instrumental in ensuring the legacy of the Auxiliaries lives on through a number of endowment funds and ongoing grants. In 2018, she helped establish the Auxiliaries Legacy Fund, a special endowment that is funded in perpetuity, ensuring the Auxiliaries can continue to support the RCH for many generations to come. Since 2018, the Auxiliaries Legacy Fund has supported a specific project at the RCH each year, making a remarkable difference to a wide range of areas and departments within the hospital. In 2022, Mim supported the Auxiliaries to come together and fund over $1.8 million worth of equipment through the RCH Equipment List grant.
It is also thanks to Mim’s hard work and dedication that the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Nursing Development Scholarship will now be funded in perpetuity through the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Nursing Development Scholarship Endowment Fund, with a corpus of over $1 million.
“I am very humbled that I have had the role of President for six years and have had the opportunity of also contributing to the RCH Foundation Board. Each day, I have been blown away by the passion, energy and dedication of all Auxiliary members to the cause and for that I feel so grateful,” said Mim.
In October 2022, Mim received the Madge Tate Service Award, the highest honour an Auxiliary member can receive, in recognition for her extraordinary service to the hospital. She was also made a Living Treasure.
In addition to her incredible work leading the Auxiliaries, Mim established the President’s Fundraising Network in 2018 as an innovative way to engage younger people with the Auxiliaries. In creating the Auxiliary, she also took on the role as President.
The Auxiliary started fundraising in 2018 and since that time has raised over $800,000 by establishing giving circles, undertaking digital fundraising campaigns, and working closely with schools.
“The aim of the President’s Fundraising Network is to help advance the future of the Auxiliaries in a digital, highly engaged world. We do this by looking for innovative ways to engage and fundraise, including the establishment Giving Circles, each funding its own project. The first Giving Circle, Chai Impact, involved 12 families who donated funds in support of a project that provided psychological care for both families and staff in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit,” said Mim.
More recently, the Auxiliary has focussed their efforts on engaging school children in a variety of fundraising activities including a group of kindergarten children who
donated their birthday money to purchase a spirometer for a child with cystic fibrosis who lives in rural Victoria. Wesley College, another school engaged through
the President’s Fundraising Network, supported the purchase of a Philips VS3 Monitor, a piece of vital equipment used throughout the hospital.
The Auxiliary has also raised extensive funds through online campaigns supporting both the Christmas Appeals and the Good Friday Appeal Campaign through the RCH Foundation.
“I have been so very fortunate over the last six years, not just to lead a group of people who have dedicated a good part of their lives to supporting this hospital, but to join them in fundraising through my own Auxiliary. I feel enormous pride when I think of everything that we have been able to achieve through the President’s Fundraising Network over the last four years,” said Mim.
While Mim is stepping down as President of the Auxiliaries in 2022, she will still remain involved as the Treasurer of the President’s Fundraising Network, something she is looking forward to.
“I am delighted to be passing on the baton to the new President of the Auxiliaries, Tiffany Lucas, and I look forward to being part of the group for many years to come as we continue making a difference in the lives of sick children.”