You have to begin on the home front

How Diana is making a difference for future generations.

For Diana, supporting Mission Australia comes from a lifetime of caring about people facing hardship. Now she’s including a gift in her Will, to help make sure there’s always a way forward for people in need.

Diana was born during World War II and remembers her childhood as a frugal time when people rallied around each other. She says that when anyone was “up against it,” her father and his friends would simply go and help. It was, she says, “a time of tightly connected community.”

Later, Diana travelled the world as an artist and archaeologist. It meant she saw poverty in many different places – from remote Aboriginal communities in Australia to South Italy and the streets of London.

When she moved back to Australia in the early 1990s, Diana says she found “the idea of homelessness and people on the streets through mental illness very troubling.” And she knew she had to help.

Diana found a way through her church in Wollongong, which gave to Mission Australia to help people facing homelessness. Diana saw her values of compassion and respect reflected in Mission Australia’s work and has been a supporter ever since.

Today, Diana feels especially passionate about our work to help women and children into safe homes.

“It’s just so dreadful if you neglect those early years,” she says. “It’s very good that Mission Australia can help mothers and children get back on track.” 

Diana says Mission Australia’s commitment to building up people’s own strengths and capacity resonates deeply with her. Having taught for much of her life, she believes that “education is an absolute key to beating poverty.”

When Diana updated her Will, it was a natural progression to include a gift to Mission Australia alongside other charities. Her sons were already well provided for and she wanted to “spread it around a bit.”

“It seems very small in the face of the problem,” Diana says. “But if lots of people give small things, it all adds up.”