Marelle Thornton (AM)
How rich and colourful and how very important the past 60 years in the life of The Spastic Centre have been!
Tonight, Dr Robin Way’s insightful address highlighted but a sample of events and themes from The Spastic Centre’s inspirational and adventurous history. In a few short minutes, she was able to build a picture book in which every chapter and illustration featured The Spastic Centre community in a united, determined and relentless search for solutions to the myriad of problems presented by cerebral palsy.
Sixty years on and we continue the search.
Though all of the answers and solutions are yet to be found, it is important to acknowledge and celebrate the body of knowledge that has been built up over time by this extraordinary organisation.
And it is for that valuable store of knowledge and the understandings it brings, our expertise and skill and our sharing it with the world, that The Spastic Centre has earned its reputation as both the leading information source on cerebral palsy and the leading provider of innovative, quality services and supports.
Many of the problems that were identified in the early days, persist today and will persist into tomorrow, so it is The Spastic Centre’s responsibility and duty to be unswerving in its purpose, and for as long as it takes, to press forward with the search begun six decades ago.
Despite huge advances in medical technology over the past 60 years and despite increasingly sophisticated practices in obstetric and neo-natal care, it is now estimated that in Australia, a baby is born with cerebral palsy every eighteen hours.
This means still that approximately one baby in every four hundred born, will be affected to some degree by cerebral palsy.
Of significance also is the fact that we are seeing an increasing number of babies born with greater levels of disability than ever before.
We have been able to find just some pieces of the puzzle that is cerebral palsy, but we are only marginally closer to the absolute answer today than were our founders in 1945! Ladies and gentlemen, the road is long.
Someone once said that the ultimate measure of the success of The Spastic Centre would be that it did not need to exist. Who would argue with that?
But the terrible truth is that we have to exist and we must continue, wholly committed to building futures for people with cerebral palsy and their families and wholly dedicated to the search.
The Spastic Centre will go on until the story is complete and the final chapter closes with “The End”.
But the next chapter, the next step towards that story’s end, begins tonight with the launch of The Cerebral Palsy Foundation – an international foundation which will become the principal body for sponsoring research, information services and innovative practices directly related to the prevention of cerebral palsy, and for improving the quality of life for people with cerebral palsy.
The target for the Foundation is $50 million to be raised over the next 5 years. A substantial amount this may be, but substantial too will be what those dollars will enable us to do. It is a far, far cry from the meagre capital of 32 pounds that began The Spastic Centre 60 years ago.
We do however begin our quest for the Foundation target with considerably more than 64 pounds or its 2005 dollar equivalent. The Foundation will be launched with an opening balance of 6.5million dollars – the most of which is a recent and most generous gift from the estate of the late Elsie Thompson.
We are certain that she would be thoroughly pleased that her bequest has given life to The Cerebral Palsy Foundation.
Our aim, through The Foundation, is to provide the opportunity to unite the resources and knowledge of cerebral palsy organizations worldwide. The benefits of such a centralized effort will ensure that research and technology advances are shared around the globe and that we can all build on and learn from collective knowledge, wisdom and achievement.
The ultimate aim of course, is prevention and cure.
The Cerebral Palsy Foundation will provide funds into perpetuity that will resource five key areas of endeavour:
As well, we envisage that The Foundation will fund a more active and influential role in advising our governments in formulating public policy about disability:
Our agenda is full indeed.
Our agenda is ambitious but ladies and gentleman, our agenda is of substance!
Our agenda is crucial.
Our agenda is achievable.
To you Prime Minister, our heartfelt thanks for sharing this most auspicious occasion with The Spastic Centre community and in advance, on behalf of Australians with cerebral palsy and their families, I thank you for dignifying our endeavours with your presence and by officially launching The Cerebral Palsy Foundation.
The motto of our founders, the late Neil and Audrie McLeod - “Nothing is Impossible” – must again intoxicate us and inspire our every effort.
Ladies and gentlemen, together we will write new and exciting chapters in The Spastic Centre’s story.
Together we can make that elusive 'The End', a reality.
Nothing is impossible!
Tonight we not only salute our beginnings and the magnificent achievements of the past 60 years but importantly, we look confidently to a future in which we can complete the vision.
Thank you Ladies and Gentlemen.
Marelle Thornton AM
President
The Spastic Centre
