I hosted the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation’s gala “Golden Hammer” at the Australian Museum the other week to raise funds to help BGF continue its great work in supporting people living with HIV. John Leha from the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence welcomed us to Country and BGF’s CEO Nick Lawson spoke about the work that BGF has been doing for the past 35 years. We had some wonderful entertainment courtesy of some fabulous humanoids – Brendan Maclean, Shauna Jensen and the ever fabulous Bob Downe who we rolled out after we’d starched his polyester with Fabulon, sprayed his hair with something that instantly expanded the ozone hole, and gave him some Pepsodent to give his pearly whites that extra sparkle.
One person who was bedazzled by Bob was BGF’s Patron of 17 years – The Honorable Justice Michael Kirby. And for those of you who don’t know him, he’s an Australian jurist and academic and a former Justice of the High Court of Australia. When HIV was first identified, Michael became involved in a number of national and international organisations including the UN AIDS Reference Group on HIV and Human Rights and he generously shares his experience and knowledge in this field with BGF Staff and Board.
Money raised on the night will enable BGF to do lots more good work over the coming year:
- $50 will pay for a client to access medication
- $150 will help get clients to their medical appointments
- $200 will provide a client with a month’s access to good nutrition
- $500 will provide a year’s access to a personal emergency alarm system
- $750 will support a client to navigate accessing long-term housing
- $1,000 will provide direct hands-on home support for 10 people
The evening raised over $50,000 for BGF thanks to auctioneer extraordinaire Romany Brooks.