Western Bulldogs Football Club and the VU Achievement Scholarships

The Western Bulldogs Football club donate $1 for every club member, every year, to support the VU Achievement Scholarship to assist students from Melbourne's western region to pursue their academic goals. 

The then, Club Chief Executive, VU alumnus and a Director of VU Foundation, Campbell Rose announced in 2009 that the Bulldogs’ would, in perpetuity, annually donate a $1 contribution for every adult member of the Club to support the VU Achievement Scholarships. In 2009 and 2010 the Club’s contribution was just over $28 000 for each year. “We have a strong partnership that traverses programs in education, community, and the sports science expertise of the University in our football training and beyond,” Dr Rose said.

Gabrielle Chalmers is a recipient of an Achievement Scholarship, studying Events Management and Hospitality. “The scholarship funds are covering the cost of my textbooks and the rest will go toward my HECS-HELP loan. I won’t have to stress as much about the size of my HECS-HELP debt when I graduate. I have friends who are working so many hours just to pay for their transport, university fees and their textbooks."

"My scholarship benefits the whole family, as I don’t have to borrow money from my parents to support my studies. I feel like I have opened up a whole new world. My Mum never went to university and my Dad took a long time to finish his degree as there wasn’t the same opportunities as there are now.”

The R E Ross Trust and the Women’s Wellness West Network (WWWN)

Through its generous support of the VU initiative, the Women’s Wellness West Network (WWWN), the legacy of the late Roy Everard Ross continues to encourage and promote community and individual health and wellbeing in the western Melbourne region. 

The R E Ross Trust recognises that disadvantage and inequity is influenced by social and economic determinants, and strives to encourage and promote community and individual health and wellbeing. In the area of social welfare, the Trust’s focus has always been on those who are most disadvantaged. In 2010, the trust enabled the WWWN to organise three successful seminars on health and well-being for the communities of the western region of Melbourne.

Formed in 2005, WWWN is the first of its kind to address a vital need for Melbourne’s western region - the need for women living in this culturally diverse community to be able to obtain essential information on important issues related to their health and wellbeing. 

WWWN brings together leading experts on women’s health and wellness in an informal local environment for the purpose of education through interactive seminars and workshops.  Many women in the community find it difficult to source a general level of information about health issues and many lack the confidence to pursue these matters outside their own cultural group.

VU’s Professor Lily Stojanovska reports: “The donation by RE Ross Trust provided the opportunity for the WWWN to organise three successful seminars in 2010 on health and well-being for the communities of the western region of Melbourne."

"The response by the community to these seminars has been tremendous. Over 100 women have attended each seminar from a variety of cultural backgrounds and ages. We look forward to continuing these educational seminars to improve the health and wellbeing of our communities in the West.”

If you feel inspired by these stories and would like to see how you can make a difference, find out how to donate.