Despite an unprecedented year of challenges but with the continued and unwavering support of club Members, Liverpool Catholic Club has again been able to award four education scholarships to students from the local area.
Following a 50th Anniversary Members mass and luncheon at the Hoxton Park Rd Club in Prestons, the students from the four eligible schools – All Saints Senior College, Freeman Catholic College, Good Samaritan Catholic College, Clancy Catholic College – were presented with their scholarships. The recipients included four students from both 2019 and 2020, as last year’s awards were postponed due to COVID-19 regulations.
The scholarships are offered to the Dux of each of the schools and are part of the Clubs broader scholarship donations program. Each scholarship includes $6,500 which goes towards their first-year University fees, plus $800 towards book fees.
“The All Saints Catholic College K-12 community are proud of our well-established and long-standing partnership with the Liverpool Catholic Club,” All Saints Catholic College Executive Principal Daniel McInerney said. “Their tangible support assists individual students, families and the entire K-12 community by a variety of means; both financial and through in-kind support.
“Ensuring both our College and the schools in the local community are well supported, highlights what to me is the mandate of the Club, to give back to the local community of which they were formed. The scholarship program for the College Dux is one such action.
“Supporting the young people who will become the future leaders and innovators of the community in which they belong is evidence of the efforts of the directors of the club to support our local talent. The effect of this program may be hard to measure and quantify, but surely the ripple effect will be seen for years to come.”
This year’s event, held on May 16, was attended by Father Paul Monkerud, Club Chaplain and Parish Priest of Liverpool and St Therese Sadlier and the acting Episcopal Vicar Western Region; The Hon Mr Chris Hayes Federal member for Fowler; The Hon Mrs Anne Stanley, Federal member for Werriwa, The Hon Mr Paul Lynch State member for Liverpool, Liverpool Mayor Cr Wendy Waller and husband Paul Bryant, Directors from kindred Catholic and local Clubs, as well as members, guests and the majority of the student recipients. Also in attendance was Mr Warren Williams, founding Liverpool Catholic Club president.
With such a long history – the first education bursaries were awarded in 1972 – Liverpool Catholic Club is proud of the strong level of support from directors and management for the scholarships, despite the recent challenges. The Club also faced major changes with the retirement after 36 years of General Manager Mr John Turnbull and the sudden and unexpected passing of Club President Michael Coffey OAM in January.
“John oversaw many years of growth at the Liverpool Catholic Club and with dedicated Boards transformed the Club into the showpiece it is today. The Board, management, staff and members wish John a happy and long retirement,” said new Club President Greg Richardson.
“Michael had been a member of the Liverpool Catholic Club since June 1998 and was appointed to the Board in February 2004. He was Assistant Treasurer from 2004 until 2015 and Vice President from 2015 to 2016. In 2016 Michael was appointed as Club President and held that position up until his passing.”
The scholarship recipients are:
DUX of the Colleges for 2019:
All Saints Catholic Senior College: Daniel Breitenberger. Daniel scored an ATAR of 98.45 and he is currently studying for a “Bachelor of Applied Science (Diagnostic Radiography) at the University of Sydney.
Freeman Catholic College: Nhi Vu. Nhi scored an ATAR of 99.6 and she is currently studying for a Bachelor of Medical Science at UNSW
Good Samaritan Catholic College: Erin Andrew. Erin scored an ATAR of 98.85 and she is currently studying a Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Civil construction) Diploma in Professional Engineering Practice.
Clancy Catholic College: Chelsea Du Buisson-Perrine. Chelsea scored an ATAR of 99.5 and she is currently studying a Bachelor of Law/Bachelor of Business at Western Sydney University.
DUX of the Colleges for 2020:
All Saints Catholic Senior College: Manhua Lu. Manhua scored an ATAR of 96.6 and she is currently studying for a Bachelor of Commerce and Computer Science at the University of NSW.
Freeman Catholic College: Vincent Nguyen. Vincent scored an ATAR of 99.75 and he is currently studying a double degree; a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) / Bachelor of Computer Science at UNSW.
Good Samaritan Catholic College: Fadi Jan. Fadi scored an ATAR of 99.05 and he is currently studying a Bachelor of Software Engineering (Honours) at UNSW.
Clancy Catholic College: Ashley Simonetta. Ashley scored an ATAR of 97.1 and she is currently studying a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Sydney.
BACKGROUND:
Celebrating its 50th year and although challenged by the impact of COVID-19, Liverpool Catholic Club was able to contribute more than $680,000 in community donations during 2020, taking the total to more than $25 million in community donations over the last 50 years. Of those donations, the Liverpool Catholic Club Education Scholarships have been in place since 1992, with earlier bursaries existing since 1972. While the original bursaries were $25 for families earning less than $5000 a year, since 2003 the Club has so far provided $1.4 million in scholarship support.
But the principles behind the Club’s overall donations strategy have remained the same as when a Catholic mens’ golf club, Patrician Brothers Sports Club and Catholic businessmen’s club, supported by the local priest, first decided to join forces in 1970 to form one club for the benefit of the community.
“Our moral obligation was to look after the Members,” said Foundation and Life Member Warren Williams. “We never thought when we started that it would grow to the extent it did. It was just going to be 300 members enjoying the social aspect of a club, offering a little bit of entertainment and to watch and support our kids playing all sorts of sports.”
Today the club has more than 54,000 Members and premises that include a hotel, sporting fields, skate rink, state-of-the-art theatre and The Laneway dining precinct and indoor playground.
“As a Club, we wanted to offer disadvantaged students the same opportunity as anyone else,” recalls fellow Foundation and Life Member Bob Brassell. “We had large families, including my wife and I. We had six kids aged one to 13 when the club was established and we gave up a lot. But I think the fact that we got it started in the first place, and we put in a tremendous amount of work, not only by the executive committee but the original Members as well, in setting up a solid foundation was why it grew so quickly.
“I’m proud to have been part of it and I wish them well for the next 50 years.”
