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On Monday 21st of February, MC Labour proudly hosted our fifth annual Golf Day fundraiser on the beautifully green and sunny Greenacres Golf Club in Kew; this event proudly supports the fight against domestic violence. This year, we raised funds once more for the Carlton Respects program; and for the first time, funds and awareness for the charity Berry Street.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, two-thirds of women who experienced physical or sexual violence, at the hands of a current or former cohabitating partner, said the violence had started or escalated during this time; making it important that, now more than ever, we share this information and education in the aim of preventing violence against women and children.
MC Labour has been a proud supporter of Carlton Respects since 2016. The Carlton Respects initiative is the Carlton Football Club’s flagship community program that aims to create a society of equality and respect in schools, communities, and workplaces. The initiative preaches that “disrespect grows louder surrounded by silence”, and endeavours to educate the community through their schools programs, workplace charters, and awareness-raising.
Violence against women is a critical issue in our country, with one woman killed on average every week as a result of domestic violence. The Carlton Respects program launched in 2016, with guidance from Our Watch, to promote gender equality for the prevention of violence against women. The program aims to challenge gender norms, and promote gender equality, to bring about attitudinal and behavioural change. Already boasting an enormous reach, the program has engaged to date over 9,000 students, made over 4.9 million social media impressions, and engaged with 24 workplaces (including the entire MC Labour team, from all our offices across Australia, in December 2019).
Berry Street believes that all children, young people, and families should be safe, thriving, and hopeful. They are one of Australia’s largest independent family service organisations, providing a diverse range of programs to over 30,000 children, young people, and families in Victoria each year. Berry Street provides a comprehensive response to domestic violence and trauma which spans triage, therapeutic counselling, parenting services, accommodation, and education. They have a strong focus on early intervention and prevention to help children and families get the support they need so they can stay safely together, work closely with first response teams, such as the police, and complement initiatives such as Carlton Respects.
The purpose of our annual MC Labour Golf Day is to educate and instigate conversation within our industry, to help raise funds for the Carlton Respects schools and community education programs, and this year the Berry Street charity. Five years ago, MC Labour was looking for a way to influence gender equality in our workforce, as the construction industry is very male-centric and testosterone-fuelled.
There was no blueprint for how to do this, but through our connections with Carlton football club, we came to learn about the Carlton Respects initiative and formed a partnership with the AFLW; creating a platform for us to pursue our goals. At our 2021 Golf Day event, we took a closer look at domestic violence through the eyes of first responders; specifically the police force. We were introduced to Detective Sergeant Shaun Allen of the Family Violence Unit who spoke to us about how he was driven to start his work as part of the family violence unit because of the lack of choice and control children have in situations of domestic violence. He gave us a comprehensive, and at times confronting, perspective through the eyes of the Police force that left many in the room reeling. (Read more about Detective Sergeant Shaun Allen guest speech at the 2021 Golf Day fundraiser event here: https://mclabour.com.au/mclabour-golfday2021-2/)
Detective Sergeant Shaun Allen left us wondering how else we can engage, and who else we can engage with, to further develop our understanding of domestic violence and violence against women and children. This line of thought brought us to Berry Street, which works with families and victims of domestic violence.
This year’s Golf Day commenced at 7:00 am with registration, hot coffee, and breakfast muffins for all players, including; members of the MC Labour management team, valued partners, clients, and the wider community. At 8:00 am, with all the golfers signed in and organised, the teams congregated on the 1st hole for a debriefing from the golf club, and an enthusiastic send-off from MC Labour’s Relationship Manager, John Morris.
This year saw representative teams and players from a large array of industry partners and community members, including; ADCO, Bult, Bossman Media, City Circle, Dynamic Learning Services, Delta Group, Eric Jones Stairs, FastTrack, Hawthorn Finance, Lendlease, MBAV, Medallion Club, Prinzi Collections, Probuild, RSM, Safeman, SWC Security, and 3 Point Motors.
MC Labour Golf Day-ers spent the following 5 hours playing their way through Greenacres 18 holes, enjoying complimentary massages on the 1st hole, expresso martinis, mojitos, and music at the Party Hole on the 8th, delicious sandwiches on the 17th hole courtesy of Barkly Smokehouse, and the opportunity to win a brand-new Mercedes -Benz A-Class A 180 with a hole in one, thanks to 3 Point Motors, on the 17th hole. On the 10th hole, players purchased raffle tickets for the chance to win one of six prizes, with all proceeds of their purchase being split between Carlton Respects and Berry Street.
Additional to the relaxing massages the golfers were able to indulge in on the 1st hole, each player found themselves face-to-face with the MC Labour ‘Wheel of Misfortune’. Before each team teed off, they would spin the wheel and find themselves having to play while standing on one foot, blindfolded, or even using a sling-shot instead of a club. With fourteen possibilities for misfortune, the hole certainly added a fun and challenging twist to each player’s game.
At 1:00 pm, the last of the day’s players had finally completed the course. Our guests found themselves treated to a delicious entre spread of cheeses, deli meats, and seafood as they settled in, and were greeted and congratulated for their efforts by our Relationship Manager, John Morris, before being introduced to our guest speaker.
This year, our guest speaker was none other than Torren Woolley, Berry Street’s Corporate Relations Manager. As a delicious lunch of steak, baked potato, and salad was delivered to the tables (red curry, saffron rice, and lentils for those few non-meat eaters in the room), Torren introduced herself and the Berry Street project.
Founded in 1877, Berry Street is one of Australia’s largest family service organisations, working with over 300,000 people each year. Torren explained how the charity is focused on early intervention. “The number of people affected by domestic violence is too great, we’re at a crisis point,” Torren explained. “People are falling through the cracks.”
To bring some perspective to the room, Torren presented some startling statistics. “Victoria police respond to domestic violence incidents every 6 minutes. For every 1 in 3 incidents, a child is present.” She began. “We have seen a 300% increase in services in last 5 years,” she continued “and have seen 4,500 more children seeking out of home care since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Torren then introduced the room to one of Berry Street’s programs, Take Two; a Victoria-wide therapeutic service that helps to address the mental health impacts on children of the trauma they have experienced from abuse, neglect, or adverse experiences; seeing who the child is, not just the behaviour. She urged all staff and guests present to imagine what the world looks like through the child’s eyes; what does the child want to be okay? What do they need?
There are three stages to Berry Street’s approach, Torren explained; respond, recover, and prevent. At the RESPOND stage, Torren explained that Berry Street’s priority is to ensure the safety of the individual; working with the police to triage high-risk cases, find them refuge accommodation, and out-of-home care. At the RECOVER stage, the charity focuses on ensuring the child is taken care of through therapeutic counselling and other means. This stage is all about recognising children as the silent victims of domestic violence, and understanding that a lack of, or improper treatment, can lead to drug abuse, crime, and even homelessness. At this stage, Berry Street takes a strengths-based approach, and engages with training with community professionals such as the police.
Finally, the RECOVER stage. “The system is at breaking point, so at this stage, our main priority is preventing intergenerational trauma,” Torren began. Intergenerational trauma refers to the mass psychological effects domestic violence can have; in which a child who experiences domestic violence is more likely to perpetuate violence to their children, and so on. If there is no intervention, domestic violence can perpetuate through the generations. Berry Street aims to break the cycle, working with parents at risk of child abuse and neglect, and directly with child protection services, to rehabilitate and end the cycle of abuse. “Berry Street believes that all parents want to be a better parent,” Torren explained.
With the conclusion of Torren’s speech, and with lunch devoured, it was time for the raffle to be drawn, the day’s winners to be announced, and the silent auction to come to its end.
This year saw the introduction of the digital auction. Through the use of Givergy, MC Labour shared their many enticing auction items with the attendees and wider community prior to the golf day, allowing all to bid on prestigious items such 2023 MC Labour Golf day packages, AFL Grand final packages, a custom-tailored suit courtesy of Prinzi Collections, 5-star hotel stays Sorrento deep sea fishing experiences, and much more.
Congratulations to our 2022 Golf Day winners: Wayne from Team Parkes for winning closest to pin on the 4th and 11th holes, Geoff from 3 Point Motors for hitting closest to pin on the 9th, Anthony from Team Delta for closest to pin on the 17th, and to Jess Hosking, the Richmond AFLW star, for winning longest drive on the 15th hole. Congratulations to our runners-up team, led by MC Labour’s Sales Manager, Donald Cairney, and a very special congratulations to our winning team from the day; Team ADCO.
Thank you once again to all who participated in the day, and to everyone who bought a raffle ticket or bid on an auction item. An extra special thank you to all of this year’s hole sponsors: Probuild, Medallion Club, City Circle Group, Three Point Motors, and Built.
Thank you to our guest speaker, Torren Woolie from Berry Street; and to Greenacres, for once again hosting our annual MC Labour fundraising Golf Day, thank you.
MC Labour’s 2022 Golf Day Fundraiser operated with strict COVID-19 restrictions, in compliance with current state laws, to ensure the good health and safety of all players, MC Labour, Traffic, and Security staff; as well as the team at Greenacres Golf Club.
For more information on Carlton Respects, head to https://www.carltonfc.com.au/carlton-respects
For more information on Berry Street, head to https://www.berrystreet.org.au/
For more information on the devastating impact domestic violence has on families, head to https://www.ourwatch.org.au/quick-facts/
1800 RESPECT: National sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling, and information referral service. Or visit https://www.1800respect.org.au/
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