The Rotary Club of Western Endeavour had an enlightening presentation by Emma Youd (Community Development Officer and Coordinator) and Katie Burrage (Philanthropy Senior Coordinator) of the Cancer Council of Western Australia at the Leederville Sporting Club on Tuesday the 16th July. Emma spoke about accommodation lodges and the program “Adopt a Room” and Katie spoke on the research supported by the Cancer Council as well as applying for grants and appeals for donations.
The Rotary Club of Western Endeavour had an enlightening presentation by Emma Youd (Community Development Officer and Coordinator) and Katie Burrage (Philanthropy Senior Coordinator) of the Cancer Council of Western Australia at the Leederville Sporting Club on Tuesday the 16th July. Emma spoke about accommodation lodges and the program “Adopt a Room” and Katie spoke on the research supported by the Cancer Council as well as applying for grants and appeals for donations.
Accommodation Lodges (Emma Youd)
 
The Cancer Council WA has two self-catering accommodation Lodges (Crawford and Milroy) in Perth that provide accommodation for regional cancer patients while they undergo treatments and cancer related appointments.
 
The Cancer Council also has a Cancer Support Coordinator at the Lodges to provide social, emotional and practical support to those newly diagnosed and undergoing treatment for cancer.
 
The Lodge accommodation is available for free, reducing the burden during the extra financial cost of being in Perth. Since 2009 there have been over 100,000 people stay at the Lodges, so they have served a large number of people which is only expected to grow with an aging population.
The longest someone has stayed at the Lodges is 87 days and the average time is 17 days.  
Crawford Lodge
Crawford, which is on the QEII site, was built as a two-storey facility in the year 2000 and is the bigger and older Lodge and has 59 motel style rooms with small kitchenettes as well as a communal kitchen. Most of the rooms are twin rooms and preference is given to regional patients.
Milroy Lodge
Milroy Lodge built in 2009 located in Shenton Park is a single-story facility in a bushland setting.  It is different to Crawford as it has predominantly single units and priority is given to regional patients.
 
Milroy Lodge also has a “Cook a Meal” where volunteers come in and cook a meal for the people staying at Lodge. It is an evening meal and after cleaning up there is a tour of the facility. Our Club is booked for one of the Cook a Meal events.
 
“Adopt a Room”
The Cancer Council of WA has a program of “adopt a room” as a way of fundraising to maintain the services of the Lodges. The Rotary Club of Western Endeavour has taken up adopting a room at Milroy. In recognition of the funding provided there is a plaque outside the room (number 302) stating the room has been funded by our Club.
There are now 54 of the total 88 rooms that have been adopted which is fantastic. The amount required to fund a room is $5,000 a year.
 
Research Program (Katie Burrage)
 
The Cancer Council of WA is always looking for donations to support research programs for typically younger scientists.
The types of research are:
  • Help fund a student researcher exploring a new research idea.
  • Allows a researcher to further investigate early findings.
  • Supports a researcher taking their discovery through a clinical trial.
  • New and better treatments for cancer patients.
$60 million has been donated since 1963, 80 researchers supported in 2023, and a total of 1,266 WA-based research projects funded since 1963!
By donating you get:
  • Recognition on the Cancer Council WA website.
  • A certificate of recognition.
  • Invitation to the annual Research Awards event.
  • Donations get a Tax Receipt for claiming a tax deduction.
Donations can be made at cancerwa.asn/research then going to supporting research.