Annual appeal
Help students get the education they deserve, by supporting the inaugural ACU annual appeal
Since 2008, the number of ACU students has doubled—from 16,000 to 32,000.
That’s twice as many students seeking out the unique qualities of an ACU education, and twice as many ACU graduates going out into the world to make a difference.
However, the number of scholarships to support those students has not kept pace. And yet the financial burden of full-time study has continued to increase, making the choice to even begin university study that much more difficult.
So this year, for the first time, we are launching the ACU annual appeal—to ask for your support to make an ACU education accessible.
To donate by cheque or money order, download the Donation Form (PDF, 118KB)
Scholarships create opportunity
Your support of the ACU annual appeal will help amazing young people to explore their talents, gifts and passions—to become the people they’re meant to be.
You will be supporting students like Verity, Aaron and Laura—three young people who are a wonderful illustration of the common good in action, using the opportunities available to them to make a difference in their communities:
Verity Watt
2nd year Bachelor of Nursing/Paramedicine student, ACU Ballarat Campus
Verity Watt is only in her second year of study at ACU but already an active leader advocating for youth issues—and against the stigma of mental illness.
I have never understood the stigma around mental health. I just really want to help alleviate that.
The Bachelor of Nursing/Paramedicine student, who grew up in the tiny town of Dixie, Victoria, has been drawn to the caring professions for as long as she can remember, and in Year 12 at Mercy Regional College, discovered she also had a passion for social justice and equity. As the Social Justice Captain, she championed numerous causes, including initiating 'Open Minds', a youth-led music event to raise awareness around mental health. As a first year university student, Verity became patently aware of the challenges to mental health many young people typically face in this new experience—and how a scholarship can really help in times of stress.
Aaron Brown
1st year Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Arts (Humanities) student, ACU Brisbane Campus
Aaron Brown knows he quite simply would not be studying at the ACU Brisbane Campus if it were not for the generous support of two scholarships.
I would have had to defer my course for 18 months and go home to work.
Harking from the small rural town of Emerald, 1000km west of Brisbane, Aaron said the savings his parents put towards his tertiary education were rapidly dwindling in the face of the actual cost of full-time study. It’s a dilemma common to many young rural and regional students, who must live away from home to pursue tertiary education while often also experiencing straitened circumstances and poor employment opportunities in their own communities. One of Aaron’s objectives in becoming a teacher is to support other outback kids like himself gain equal access to opportunities.
Laura Bishop
1st year Bachelor of Nursing/Paramedicine student, ACU Canberra Campus
A close personal encounter sealed forever Laura Bishop’s admiration for the paramedical services and her determination to follow in the same footsteps.
I would see the paramedic vans drive past and think, ‘That’s going to be me one day’.
The first year Bachelor of Nursing/Paramedicine student vividly recalls the day she returned home from school at age 11 to find her seven-week-old baby sister Ella had stopped breathing. Her quick actions in support of her mother earned her accolades as a hero, but what Laura chiefly remembers is the amazing care and support her family received from the emergency staff—that day and beyond. Winning the Calvary John James Hospital Excellence in Nursing and Paramedicine Scholarship gave Laura a welcome boost to pursue her aspirations of joining them through study at ACU.
Michelle Marsh
1st year Bachelor of Education (Primary)(Away from Base) student, ACU Strathfield Campus
For Michelle Marsh, winning a scholarship to study at the ACU Strathfield Campus was one of a constellation of moments that has forever transformed her life and the lives of her five children.
…it’s giving them the choice and freedom to fight for their place in the world.
Michelle Marsh is an extraordinary young woman. Through amazing determination, she has dragged herself from a past of poor schooling, domestic violence, and alcohol and drug addiction, to transform not only her own life but that of her five children, whom she supports as sole carer. And now she is training at ACU to become a teacher in the Primary Indigenous Program—so she can support and encourage other Indigenous youth to fulfil their potential before they encounter the same pitfalls. Winning a scholarship to support her studies was one more crucial encouragement for Michelle in steadily building faith in herself on a new pathway to personal discovery and freedom.
An endowed fund with matched giving
Your gift to the annual appeal will support a brand new Creating Opportunity Fund, an endowed scholarship fund. This means, regardless of the size of your donation, you will be contributing to a legacy supporting many, many ACU students for generations to come.
Moreover, every gift you make will have twice the impact, because the University will match EVERY donation, dollar for dollar.
This is truly a community project, embodying our community ethos of the power of the common good.
Tax deductibility
ACU is a registered Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR), so any gift of $2 or more is tax deductible within Australia. You can also rest assured that 100 per cent of your donation to ACU will always go towards the cause you have generously chosen to support.
Donate today to create opportunity!
Page last updated: 2017-06-27
Short url: https://www.acu.edu.au/1112402