After 6 years of being part of the Yass Valley community, Yass Valley SPIN Foundation members are still often asked to explain what the Foundation is and does. Many of the frequently asked questions are as follows:
WHAT DOES SPIN MEAN?
SPIN stands for Supporting People in Need
HOW IS THE SPIN Foundation connected to the Yass LIONS CLUB?
The Yass Valley SPIN Foundation operates as a club branch of the Lions Club of Yass, but is a separate not-for-profit organisation offering financial support to those medical expenses incurred within the Yass Valley boundaries.
HOW DID THE FOUNDATION COME ABOUT?
Back in 2018, a group of community-minded people could see the need to offer financial assistance to those struggling to meet the costs they were incurring with their medical conditions. A committee was formed, and with the invitation of Yass Lions to come under their banner, the Yass Valley SPIN Foundation launched in July 2019.
THE EARLY DAYS-
Unfortunately, the Foundation launched at the same time as COVID-19, but undeterred, our members went about raising the necessary funds through events and sponsorships to be in a position to start offering assistance by mid-2020.
WHO HAVE WE HELPED?
We have supported many locals across a wide and varied range of medical conditions. Some of our patients have been ongoing from the Foundation’s inception, others have been short-term or one-off payments.
DO WE ASSIST CANCER PATIENTS?
The SPIN Foundation doesn’t offer financial assistance directly to patients suffering from cancer; we direct them to Yass Can Assist. In the Past, we have made a $20,000 donation to Yass Can Assist to help offset the funding of people we’ve referred to them.
HOW TO CONTACT THE FOUNDATION?
The Foundation has a Facebook page for general enquiries. For Patient enquiries or information, contact Stella, who is our patient liaison officer and can be contacted on 0492820894. She will then pass any requests for assistance onto the patient team.
THE PATIENT TEAM
The team consists of eight Foundation members, half of whom have extensive experience in the medical field. The committee discuss each assistance application on a case-by-case basis in total confidentiality.
WHAT MEDICAL COSTS ARE COVERED?
Mostly, our assistance payments cover medical prescription costs, travel to appointments, accommodation, some out-of-pocket specialists’ appointments, and personal medical equipment like walkers, wheelchairs, etc. Patients have a capped amount of support available, which is reassessed at the end of each financial year.
WIDER COMMUNITY SUPPORT?
Since 2020, the Foundation has purchased and donated many pieces of medical equipment across the Yass shire, including: 4 x defibrillators to schools, 6 x 24-hour accessible defibrillators across the town and villages, Portable oxygen units and electric medical beds to Yass Valley Aged Care, Medical chairs/beds to Thomas Eccles Gardens and a vein locator unit to the Yass Hospital. We are currently organising and funding community information and training nights for the use of defibrillators across the shire.
HOW IS THE FOUNDATION FUNDED?
The Foundation relies mainly on funds raised by our community events to offset the patient expenditure, accompanied by the amazing support of the business community, sporting clubs and individual donations. Our main fundraisers include Pyjama Day, Bowning Hill Walk, Christmas lights display, Christmas stocking raffle, Show n Shine car show and many one-off events we run from time to time.
One hundred per cent of profits raised at these events go into our patient account. The administration side of the Foundation relies on money raised by our members or non-Foundation events organised by other organisations. With that money, we then donated back to the Foundation’s administration account.
MEMBERS AND VOLUNTEERS?
Currently, we have 12 committee members (with another 4 set to join), along with around 20 amazing volunteer members who help out at our events.
CURRENT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President- Carly Scanes, Vice President- Ruth Laverty, Secretary- Barry O’Mara, Treasurer- Donna Luff, Asst Treasurer- Yvonne O’-Mara.
HOW CAN YOU, AS A COMMUNITY MEMBER, HELP US?
The Foundation is indebted to our wonderful community for its ongoing support, particularly in these hard economic times. We ask for your continued support of our raffles and community-run events to allow us to continue our work in the community and help those less fortunate.
VOLUNTEERS
Our team has some wonderful ideas for great community events, but we are mindful of burning out our hard-working committee and volunteers, so if you are interested in joining our energetic, fun team as a volunteer and helping us get these new ideas off the ground, we would love to hear from you. Selling raffle tickets, setting up events or helping run events are some of the ways you can assist us.
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions that we have not covered, please feel free to do so in a comment or contact us via our Facebook page if you wish to ask privately.
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