At Yieldbroker, we’re grateful for the opportunity to contribute to our local markets and wider communities. Every year we carefully choose a small number of initiatives to support; most often we choose those which have a striking effect on people’s quality of life yet have little support or funding already.
We’re grateful to all our clients and employees whose generosity on Charity Day has helped us make a big impact on the charities we support.
Rett Syndrome (RTT), which is seen almost exclusively in females, is a genetic disorder in which the brain does not mature in the way it should. For affected children, their early development appears normal but then slows down or suddenly halts. This period of their lives can be marked by very serious challenges including loss of communication, mobility, intellectual disability and breathing problems.
RTT has been an active area of research at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, where the focus is to develop and apply advanced gene-editing technologies to discover a cure for the syndrome. Yieldbroker’s charitable donations have helped tremendously advance the research on RTT and this will continue again this year in support of further medical research to get them closer to a cure.
Brett Anslow (First Sentier Investors) has a daughter, Holly, with Rett Syndrome. At the previous rate of funding, research to find a cure was estimated to take up to 10 years. With the support and fundraising from Yieldbroker spanning across the last 3 years, Holly and other children like her, may see a cure in less time!
Learn moreMirabel Foundation is an Australian charity assisting children aged 0-17 years who have been orphaned or abandoned due to parental illicit drug use, and that are now in the care of extended family (often elderly grandparents).
The Charity’s mission is to break the destructive cycle of drug addiction, and helping to restore a child’s sense of self-worth, belonging and hope for the future in order for them to reach their full potential as young adults. Each year the demand for Mirabel’s services increases by at least 20%, and in the last two years this has been further exacerbated by Covid-19 circumstances.
A new partnership for Yieldbroker in 2020 where our donation was used to purchase the Charity’s first vehicle. This made a huge difference through Covid and used to deliver food and other much needed supplies to families impacted through the lockdown period. In addition, this meant getting counselling much closer to kids and families in remote areas. This year, Yieldbroker’s contribution will go towards social inclusion and therapy programs, as well as other events to raise awareness and funds.
This disease affects approximately 10,000 people across Australia. Sufferers of Neurofibromatosis (NF) often develop tumours that can cause severe disfigurement, blindness, and deafness. Sadly, such disfigurement occurring in children also leads to a high suicide rate during formative years.
Yieldbroker’s contribution last year was allocated towards the placement of a specialist nurse at the Westmead Children’s Hospital to specifically work and guide families impacted by NF. This was a 2-year appointment which will continue again this year. Yieldbroker’s contribution will also be used for research and clinical trials that aim to reduce the life-threatening tumours that can form as part of the disease’s progression.
We will continue to support NF by donating through the Hospital’s Annual Telethon, whereby all money donated will be doubled via matching donors.
Learn moreAppointed as a charity partner for the first time this year, Wounded Heroes is a national community organisation that supports Veterans and their families in financial crisis, homelessness, and suffering from other hardships. This is principally done by providing short-term emergency relief payments to individuals and their families, although funds are also available for other purposes where a need exists. Wounded Heroes are first responders to calls for help, when speed is critical and no other services are available.
Why we want to help? Many veterans return with PTSD or other various inflictions and find it incredibly difficult to readjust to civilian and home life. The consequences of this are severe including high rates of mental disorders - 50% within 12 months of discharge; homelessness - 5,767 reported in 12 months; suicide rates that are much higher than the community; and complete breakdown in family units. Covid has had a significant impact on this demographic and their impacted families, now with up to 30 emergency calls for help per day.
Yieldbroker’s contribution will go directly to helping service families in need, and in particular towards necessary items like food and accommodation.
For more information about the initiatives Yieldbroker is supporting, please read our stories here.