Telethon funds ‘going begging’

Press, 18 July 1979, Page 6

Telethon funds ‘going begging’

Health reporter Almost $1.5 million from last year’s 1 elethon appeal is going begging. The main contender for the money, the Council for the Disabled, has failed to convince the Rheumatism and Arthritis Foundation that proposed projects for the physically disabled are worth investing in.

Before last year’s Telethon, hhich raised $3.2 million, the foundation gave approval to i proposal to grant four tentres about $lOO,OOO each fo set up aids and information tentres for the disabled. When 'he foundation igreed to designate money for the centres in Auckland. Palmerston North, Wellington, and Christchurch, it did; lo knowing that no money tould be granted until a sationai body, representing the phvsically disabled, was established. This body, the Council for the Disabled, was hastily set #p late in 1978 to make best use of the money. The Council for the Disibled loosely represents; groups in Auckland. Welling-: ton, and Christchurch based: jn Co-ordinating Councils fori the Handicapped in those! places. None of the co-ordinating i touncils have anything but| Idvisory status for disabled people’s groups in their dis-l tricts. They emplov no full-! lime professional staff nor doj they have a national admin-| Istrative structure.

,i After the setting up of thejl jjCouncil for the Disabled, its t >| representatives in each of the 1 rifour selected centres were t il charged with the task of pre- < ijsenting a plan to the founda- < Ition for the use of their share/ , of Telethon funds. Only one—P a sub-committee of the Christ-)! (church Co-ordinating Counciljj—has prepared a viable pro-,, ijposal, although all four!' ,'centres knew, before last)! year’s Telethon, that aids! J ,! centres were proposed in|< I their areas. The Christchurch proposal, has been described by repre- j r sentatives of the foundation t ' as a “near water-tight pro- ( l posal," and no money will j be handed over until a prop- c ‘ erly constituted group is set t ’ up to receive it. Meanwhile, /almost $1.5 million, which is j {earning valuable interest it r from its investments, will be t ! witheld by the foundation. |r . The Christchurch proposal 1 J! was drawn up by a commit-h Htee consisting of the chief I *occupational therapist for the i North Canterbury Hospital t •IBoard (Miss Joan Davidson), c >ithe secretary of the Christ- t ■[church Co-ordinating Coun- ‘ cil for the Handicapped (Mrs c

Phillippa Evans), the. manager of the Christchurch branch of the Foundation for the Blind (Mr C. Fisk), the co-ordinator of geriatric and domiciliary services (Mr P. Andrew) and the research [worker for the health planIning and research unit (Mr B. Hawkins). The Christchurch proposal lis for $45,565, much less than the $lOO,OOO allotted, and will be incorporated as part of I the Building Centre in Cashel ! Street. The plans have been well researched and are supported by a Christchurch member of the foundation’s management division, Mr R. Wilton, who is also chairman of the foundation’s grants advisory committee. Mr Wilton said last evening that the foundation felt I the Christ church proposal was eminently suitable. “No imoney, however, can be ■ handed over as it must be ■administered by a national body. “there is no reason why the Christchurch proposal could not get going without the other three,” he said. “They simply have not got off the ground.”