From James Horrocks, Head of Brennan House
Holdsworth Ball a great success
The annual Holdsworth Ball was run recently on Saturday 1st September and was a great success thanks to the huge efforts of a number of students and staff, many of whom had been working to put this night together since late April.
The Holdsworth Ball is a charity ball that is put on by students from both Waverley College and St Clare’s College for the clients of Holdsworth Community, it is the major social justice event for Brennan House. Holdsworth is an organisation that works primarily with children and young adults living with intellectual disabilities, providing support for them, their families and carers.
The entire event is planned and run by the students, with all costs having to be covered by their own fundraising efforts. They are also responsible for catering a three-course meal, entertainment, prizes and the promotion of the event throughout the community. This is a very significant undertaking by those involved and requires them to meet every Wednesday afternoon, which they commenced doing in Term 2.
The feedback this year from Holdsworth, the clients who attended and their families has been fantastic. It is the key event in the Holdsworth social calendar each year. All who attended commented on the excellent work done by the students involved and the way in which they conducted themselves on the night. Many parents of clients say that these nights are one of only a handful of opportunities they get to see their children interact with their friends and others in a “normal” social setting, and is something that means so much to each of them.
The whole event would not be able to happen without the support of the incredible Waverley College community. This year, as with many prior years, a number of staff and departments helped make the night such a great success:
- Geraldine Cullen
- John Kara
- Tracie Ryan
- Stephanie Boyce and the TAS Department
- Kaitlyn Downey
- Chris Blenkinsopp and the Music Department
Thank you also to Mr Graham Leddie, Mr Matthew Porter and Father Bernie, for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend and show their support on the night.
The core group of students who worked to plan the event included:
- Zander Gabriel
- Mark Andre
- Joshua Gleeson
- Nick Buckingham
- Charley Howell
- Sam Frazer
- Max Curry
- Kyle Goulding
- Nat Yarrow
- Will Davison
- Darcy Mullins
- Michael Gatto
- Tommy Tyson
- Alex Kapos
- Will Durkin
- Daniel Cobbe
In addition to this, many other students and Old Boys volunteered their time on the day to help set up, prepare and then perform on the night itself. Many of these boys also worked from 8am-10:30pm on the Saturday, along with those listed above.
Music and Lighting:
- Oliver Ruse
- Angus Mcpherson
- Andrew Tinellis
- Flynn Schulz
- Dominic Augoustis
- Ryan Bakels
- Luca Galeazzi
- Simon Finnegan
- Eric Cordato
- Riley Addison
- Leo Bosi
Kitchen and General Helpers:
- Lachlan Gray
- Fynn Cviker
- Harry Heinemann
- Jack Zanin
- Harry Joll
Every single one of these students was exceptional and an absolute credit to themselves, their families and the college. They deserve high recognition for their commitment to the night and the immense amount of work they all put in for such a worthy cause.
