Celebrating 50 years of the South Australia Charity Luncheon

Rod Winders, Chair of the ANZIIF South Australian Charity Luncheon Committee, has dedicated his time and energy to helping charity organisations raise money through ANZIIF and its former iteration, The Institute, for close to 20 years.

Winders, who joined the Charity Luncheon committee in 2004, shortly after ANZIIF became a national organisation, says the event was previously run by a group of long term ANZIIF members, who initiated it as a chance for networking while doing some good in the community.

A new vision

Following a national program to integrate the individual state branches, the SA Branch Executive decided to re-invigorate the Charity Luncheon concept, a new committee was formed with a fresh vision.

Winders, along with current South Australia Charity Luncheon Committee member Meredith Stewart worked closely with the new committee members to take the event forward with the intention of primarily concentrating on South Australian-based charities who were struggling for funds.

“We started out pretty humble, attempting to raise funds for three or four smaller charities, but about a year later, we decided to concentrate on promoting one single charity of choice,” says Winders, who would much prefer to stay out of the limelight himself.

Distinguished past

One of the first charities on the list was the Julian Burton Burns Trust, founded by Bali bomber survivor and ex footballer Julian Burton OAM.

But Winders says his all-time favourite event occurred in 2008, when Downs Syndrome SA was the charity of choice.

“Part of Down Syndrome SA’s work involved teaching the [Downs Syndrome] kids to dance,” he recalls.

“In the half time break at the luncheon, the kids put on a rock'n'roll show and then heaps of guests got up and danced with them. It was just beautiful. And it was clear that the kids were getting a fantastic benefit from the charity.”

In terms of the most memorable speaker, Winders points to former Olympian, Little Heroes Foundation advocate Anna Meares.

“Anna Meares is a particularly engaging person and people could really relate to her story of becoming a world champion cyclist, having a serious accident, and then what it took for her to get back on her bike to win Silver,” he recalls.

“The way she humbly described her journey without bragging or feeling sorry for herself, just explaining what she needed to do, and then doing it, was very moving. Her dedication and perseverance, and the pain and suffering she went through was inspiring to hear for everyone. She never gave up.”

Sharing the journey

It's therefore fitting that in 2023, ANZIIF’s South Australia Charity Luncheon will celebrate its 50^th anniversary with Little Heroes Foundation, whose journey it has followed through many changes since the foundation’s inception in 1996.

Founded by Adelaide Crows footballers Chris McDermott and Tony McGuiness, Little Heroes Foundation started its life as the McGuinness McDermott Foundation, raising funds for kids with cancer in memory of five-year-old Nicholas Berry and seven-year-old Nathan Maclean who both lost their lives to the terrible disease.

The foundation, which changed its name to Little Heroes in 2010, predominantly focuses on supporting big ticket items such as equipment and facilities at children’s hospitals to support the treatment of seriously ill kids.

Giving back to the community

Winders says the desire to give back to the community has always been his motivation for helping to run the South Australia Charity Luncheon.

“As an insurance or finance professional, you’re aware that the public may view you as being either their best friend or worst enemy,” he says. “It often seems that the public sees finance people as the ones who take their money and the insurance industry as a ‘necessary evil’.

“At the end of the day, it’s our responsibility to demonstrate that it’s more complex than that, and we, as a profession, are actually very concerned about the welfare of our community.

“The charity luncheon is a chance for everyone to get together and connect, but also to acknowledge and collectively support those who are suffering hardship. Most people understand the fact that no matter what your situation in life, there is always someone worse off.

“As insurers, we get to see a lot of hardship, whether individuals recovering from natural disasters or small businesses struggling to make it through COVID. We can relate to that suffering and we’re there to be of service.”

Celebrating resilience 

Winders adds that while the aim of the luncheon is to raise money, it’s also a celebration of the work and contribution of the chosen charity each year.

Apart from raising money for Little Heroes, which is currently focused on supporting kids with childhood dementia, Winders says he hopes that the luncheon will raise awareness about the impacts of this tragic disease.

“There are quite a number of [childhood dementia] cases in South Australia and the country overall,” he says.

“So, I think that the first thing to do is to explain that this disease is out there and that these are the sorts of circumstances that people live with and fight their way through.

“That's the goal of the charity lunch: to make a connection with the people you work with and to learn about what happens outside your own personal field of reference.”

Spreading the word

For the future, Winders would like to see the South Australia Charity Luncheon continue from strength to strength.

Given that South Australia is a relatively small community, he says the event does not necessarily need to get bigger locally, but he would like to see our impact for the state's charities become more substantial.

“You can always raise more money for the charities," he says. "They can always use the money to do something."

He also coyly suggests that ANZIIF's interstate counterparts "could get onboard and run their own (charity) events." 

But for Winders, the most crucial thing is to present the insurance industry as saying, "This is why we're here. We’re here to help people through whatever they’re dealing with."

"It’s our responsibility to keep building a wider awareness of the people who need our help as well as promoting our intention and commitment to supporting those people,” he says.

It's not too late to register for the South Australia Charity Luncheon