2024 Dick Menting Community Champion joint winner-Anne Bishop

Now in its 20th year, the Edge Community Fund is a registered charity.

Over that time The Edge Community Fund has supported nearly 600 vulnerable kids and families in Ashburton, Ashwood and Chadstone and surrounding areas so that the children can participate in activities such as school camps, scouts, community sport and group activities such as gymnastics, ballet classes, playgroups, homework groups and similar activities. This has helped ensure that the kids did not miss out.

For virtually the whole time of the work of The Edge Anne Bishop has been the volunteer Coordinator and Administrator of The Edge. She has organised meetings and agendas, written and circulated the minutes, received and processed applications for support, liaised with Committee members on any issues of concern, kept records for The Edge in great order, written annual reports, helped out with selling raffle tickets, helped organise trivia nights as fundraisers, organised Edge Community Breakfasts at Huntingdale Golf Club, issued thank you letters and tax invoices to donors and any other task required in running a small local children’s charity.

Anne had the benefit of being able to work two half days at the Craig Family Centre in a shared office or in post-COVID times from home. Always a cheerful, kind and thoughtful colleague, blessed with common sense, she goes about her work with humble efficiency and courtesy. She is quick to respond with any request for help and is always timely and thorough in delivery.

Anne has also been a great contributor to the community work of women associated with St Oswald’s Anglican church in Glen Iris. For many years she was an active contributor to the work of Caritas which raised funds to help those in the community needing support. The work Anne has done with The Edge has been invaluable to the children of vulnerable families in our local community over many years.

Anne Bishop is a very deserving winner of the Dick Menting Community Champion Award.

Anne is pictured above with (from left) Inner East Community Finance Chair, Bob Stensholt; Mark Weber, The Edge Community Fund; and Neil Dalrymple, Director Inner East Community Finance.