FROM OUR CEO What a

FROM OUR CEO What a start to the year this has It is good to reflect on what has If you haven’t yet had a chance been. So much has happened, been done and the difference to get involved with MSWA this with many achievements under it makes. year, why not sign up to Step Up our belt already – and yet we still have so much more we want to do. I have a sense from talking to others that we are all trying to ‘cram’ in what we couldn’t do during the COVID-19 response, in both our personal On the fundraising front, our community has continued to support us, including: / Rottnest solo swimmer Jamie Warnock, who raised ,735 in honour of his mum. for MSWA on Sunday, 25 June? Take on the challenge of climbing Perth’s tallest building alongside myself, the executive and our MSWA staff team, as we welcome new sponsors Commonwealth Bank. Details on page 36. and professional lives, which is unintentionally exhausting! The privilege of working at an organisation like MSWA is that we are all so passionate about our Purpose and helping the community we exist to support, though this does translate to wanting to do more for people, all as soon as possible. Hence our reflection that we need to stop, take a breath and slow down to make sure we prioritise the right things that will make a truly positive impact. / The Pharmacy 777 team and over 25 individuals who hit the pavement for MSWA in the HBF Run for a Reason on Sunday, May 21. / The Brown family, who donated an entire collection of craft supplies to MSWA Rockingham Outreach, resulting in what we now call ‘Julie’s Corner’. See page 11. / Our Albany Swim, which the local community supported so wonderfully to raise almost ,000 for MSWA (see the photos on page 24). / Our Albany Ride just gone on May 6 – see the wrap up on page 25. / Everyone who bought tickets in our lotteries, specifically the latest Mega Home Lottery – we are so proud to have held the final draw with our Clients and team at Margaret Doody House Respite. What a wonderful opportunity to show where the money raised goes, and highlight the difference your ticket makes. All these funds contribute to services for those who don’t or can’t get enough funding, to our research contributions in a search for a cure or better treatments, and the costs to build our Respite, High-Support Accommodation and Service Centres. We can’t say “thank you” enough for all the support we receive to help us do this. Just as vital is the dedication of our volunteers. Your commitment to make a difference for our Clients is inspiring to us all; regardless of whether you work directly to support our Clients, behind the scenes in our kitchens and gardens, or at our events. Every role makes a positive, lasting impact and as we reflect on National Volunteer Week 2023, we hope you feel appreciated and valued - because you are! In April, we celebrated the first anniversary of our Albany Service Centre and High-Support Accommodation. It is a lovely facility, but the most valuable aspect is the team and the Clients who bring it heart, as shown in the pictures on page 26 and our back cover. The unveiling of Julie's Corner at MSWA Rockingham. In terms of improving our services, we have selected our Advisory and Client Co-Design Committee and held our first meeting in early May with our amazing group of Client volunteers. We can’t wait to see what comes out of these meetings in terms of new and better ways of supporting our Clients and the community. See page 7 for more information. Most importantly on services, it is the hard work of every care support worker, their support teams and our rostering team, who are core to MSWA achieving its Purpose. I never cease to be amazed by the difference they make. It is worth talking about the very difficult challenge these teams, our support staff and our Clients have faced as we transition our Client Management Systems. This has not been easy, and projects of this kind never are, but it has made difficult times more difficult as we have bedded it down. To those of you impacted as a result of rostering and billing challenges, please accept my sincere apologies. Most of all, thanks for your kindness to our staff as we have worked through this. Lastly and very importantly, we have made good progress on our company structure change. We value the feedback received from you on the proposed Constitution and structure change via our email channel so far and encourage you to continue sending through any comments or questions to boardsecretariat@mswa.oru.au. If you wish to know more, please go to our website via mswa.org.au/member-information where you can find a summary of the proposed changes and the reasoning for them, the draft Constitution and some frequently asked questions. As the leaves turn brown, the weather cools and we move into the next few months after our deep breath, I wish you good health and happiness and ask you to keep being open with us about where we can do better. Jamie Warnock. Our Early Bird winners. Some of our 2023 Albany Riders. MELANIE KIELY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER 4 5