*blows off dust/cobwebs*

HELLO

HELLO

Hello

hello

Anyone still out there??  I just had a look and it has been over a MONTH since I last blogged here!! I think that has been the longest break I’ve taken from blogging without informing the readers about it and for that, I do apologise!  Though, it’s not like the world has stopped turning lol.  People still eat/cook/enjoy good food and do their own merry thing (well, I hope you have been!).  Still, I feel like I need to be accountable to this blogspace for my absence.

In the midst of adjusting to full-time hours and on top of all the weekly commitments I try to juggle, I’ve been frantically trying to meet some other accountability requirements.

The story really goes back a few years.  For my 21st birthday, against all the legal advice I had been given about how much it would cost and how much time it would require to maintain it over the years (what do lawyers know, right?) I decided to launched my own charitable trust – the VHAN Hope and Opportunity Fund (“Fund”).

can you guess what the colour scheme was?? :P

The conception of this Fund lies in the generosity that I received through the funding of my high school education via the Violet Hall Trust. I am forever grateful for the opportunities and experiences I was given as a beneficiary of the Trust and I wanted to be able to do the same for other individuals in the future – in essence, pay it forward (essentially this is a scholarship fund).

yeah we went all out on the cake :P

The legal work necessary to establish the Fund was all paid for thanks to the generosity of friends and family like yourselves but throughout the last 3 years, whilst completing my law degree, I had very limited time to do much else for the Fund except keep it afloat i.e. keep Consumer Affairs and the tax office happy by meeting statutory reporting requirements.

We had a silent auction :)

A requirement (which I’ve had to deal with lately) was to get our books audited; this was frankly quite daunting for me because of the money I envisioned it costing.  But thankfully, we were able to engage the same accounting firm that had handled the financial records of the Violet Hall Trust and because of the prior understanding and working relationship, costs were reserved for the time being.

However, this has given me a wake up call. Now that my uni days are behind me, it’s the season to devote more time and effort to the Fund so that it can begin full operations in the years to come.

So… as some of you would be aware through the other social networks I frequent, I recently turned the ripe old age of TWENTY FOUR and as a result, I have started my 24th Birthyear Campaign! :D  The ultimate goal is to, through various fundraising avenues, raise $10,000 by the time I turn 1/4 of a century ;).

Why $10,000??

In reality this is a long, long, long-term project.  For the Fund to be self-sustaining and perpetual, there will need to be at least $100,000 invested.  $100,000 seems almost unreachable right now so I think smaller targets are the way to go.  The immediate short-term goal is to get enough funds together so that the money can start accruing interest in its bank account. Hence, I present…

Phase 1: Raise $1000.00 for the VHAN Hope & Opportunity Trust Fund

in ONE MONTH from my 24th birthday (13 April)

I’ve been astounded by the generosity of friends and family as I’ve almost reached my target but we are about $150.00 off so… I thought I would open it up to the blog audience and others friends who have made pledges to donate but have yet to do so ^^.

SO, if you would like to lend a little support (every little bit counts!), donations can be made to:

Account Name: VHAN HOPE AND OPPORTUNITY INC IN TRUST FOR VHAN HOPE AND OPPORTUNITY FUND
BSB: 063109
Account number: 11042408

• Please put your first initial and surname, eg “JSmith” in the Description
• Donations ARE tax-deductible in Australia – yay!
• If you would like a receipt please e-mail me (vhantrustfund@gmail.com)

An official website for the Fund is in the works and I plan to get back into blogging ASAP so please also stay tuned for what I hope will be permanent return to the blogging sphere :).

Thanks for all your support thus far!

♥ Ames

P.S. If you are overseas and want to donate, you can do so via this PayPal link (though note there is a transaction fee of 2.4% + $0.30AUD with every transfer, therefore it is strongly suggested that you donate through net-banking where possible or you can find me in person for cash donations ^^).