Charity Link is a collaborative charity organisation which provides the framework for more than one hundred West Australian charities to work together and as such, make the biggest difference possible to thousands of disadvantaged West Australians.

Established in 2001, Charity Link is a registered charity which acts as a central fundraising and coordinating body to provide material aid via our 100+ ‘member’ charities to West Australians experiencing financial hardship and/or crisis.

By working together and using a collaborative approach, Charity Link is able to minimise the cost of fundraising, increase purchasing power, reduce duplication in competition for funds and therefore ensure the optimal use of resources.  By using this approach alleviates the pressure experienced by our members and so allows them to focus on their core services.

The innovative, yet logical, approach used by Charity Link is unique to Western Australia and is embraced by Lotterywest who generously provide an annual grant to cover Charity Link’s administration costs.  This grant means Charity Link can guarantee 100 per cent of all donations and sponsorships are directed to the purchase of material aid for all appeals. 

Our vision is to create a future where all West Australians to have “necessities of life”.  As such, Charity Link aims to foster an environment of team work by adding value to those organisations supporting families and individuals in crisis, while promoting opportunities for all Western Australians to be involved in our appeals.

 

The Cleft Palate and Lip Society (CleftPALS) was established to provide support, reassurance, and knowledge to parents and their families of a child born with a cleft condition. This was the vision when the support group seed was planted. The seed has grown over the years with branches in most states around Australia.

Way back in 1974, the days of flares and free love, CleftPALS was born in NSW. It all started when two friends had babies with a cleft at the same time. The friendship and support that they gleaned from each other was so helpful that they decided to share it with other parents.

In Western Australia it pretty much started the same way as in NSW.

The beginnings of CleftPALS WA harks back to 1971/72 and an orthodontist by the name of Dr William Brogan who suggested to the mum of a cleft-affected child getting all the other parents of cleft-affected children together on a regular basis for moral support and discussion forums.  Flyers were put up at Dr Brogans private rooms and soon there was enough interest to hold the first meeting, held with the kind continuing support of Dr Brogan at his private residence.  Turnout steadily increased to the point where a hall was hired to cater for all the interested people.
 
However the CleftPALS motto "The Sharing Helps" can be traced back even further to unsung everyday heros like local GP's who were the front-runners to the formalisatisation of such support groups, be it CleftPALS or other similar parent support organisations.  One such example was in the middle of the swinging 60's when a Carlisle GP noted that two of his patients were mums of cleft-affected children (born a few years apart) and only lived a few doors away from each other on the same street.  He recognised the benefit of introducing the mother of the older child to the mother of the 2 month old baby preparing for her child's first repair surgery, as bewildering and stressful today as it was back then!  At the doctors request Judy duly dropped by for a cuppa and a chat armed with pictures of her cleft-affected son, helping put Jessie's mind at ease as to what her and her daughter were about to undergo.  Jessie too saw the value of sharing and demystifying the journey to other mums and hence was one of the initial members of CleftPALS WA "paying it forward".
 
So, long before "The Sharing Helps" officially became the motto of CleftPALS WA there were people already living by its mantra.

The actual Cleft Palate and Lip Unit was started by Mr Harold McComb (Plastic Surgeon) in the mid 1950’s at Princess Margaret Hospital. Dr William Brogan (Orthodontist) later joined him in the 1960’s.  They were infact channelling our motto “The Sharing Helps” and putting it out there, connecting mums to share and discuss long before the formal creation of CleftPALS WA.

The Silver Chain Group’s purpose is to build community capacity to optimise health and wellbeing. This is the core of who we are as an organisation and will help shape the future of in home community care across Australia.

With well over 100 years' experience delivering care in the community, respectively, both Silver Chain and RDNS SA are committed to offering a range of services to assist people in their homes. With coverage in WA, SA and QLD, the Silver Chain Group is committed to caring for all individuals and providing the most extensive range of support and wellbeing to everyone.

These services include specialist nursing, palliative care, home care and support services, home hospital and home therapy/allied services, such as physiotherapy, podiatry and speech pathology. We also have a range of equipment like personal alarms and other technology based support to assist clients of all ages.

Our leadership in health and community care allows us to provide key services to Federal and State Governments and other medical professionals, as well as direct to our clients. This ensures that our networks and partnerships are extensive enough to provide a full service to all individuals in every area of health and community care.

We are proud of our history, innovation and leading services and are excited about our future. 

In Western Australia, United Way WA acts as a bridge between businesses and charities so that you and your business can make a real difference in the community in which you live and work.

We make it easy by offering a choice of fun, rewarding programs and taking care of all the organisational and back-office details. Local businesses donate funding and volunteer services to more than 170 local Community Partners each year through United Way WA.

Businesses benefit from networking, morale and team-building, personal development opportunities for staff and the chance to give back to the community. Getting involved with United Way WA is a winning partnership for all.