I’m growing a goatee to raise money for The Cottage Counselling Centre. Check out this vid:
DONATE MONEY HERE | FACEBOOK PAGE | THE COTTAGE WEBSITE
Below are four reasons why The Cottage is worth supporting:
1. The Cottage is a charity that does great work providing counselling services on a Not-For-Profit basis to those in need at 6 locations around Sydney.
The Cottage was initially started through the vision of professional psychologists who gained the support of one of the churches on the Northern Beaches to establish a counselling centre in a small cottage on the church grounds in Narrabeen. The Cottage was established so those who can’t afford commercial counselling could still gain access to effective counselling services. The counsellors see people struggling with many different kinds of issues; grief, anxiety, depression, anger, domestic violence, childhood abuse, addictions, sexuality issues, disability, relationship strain, and parenting issues. They run on a shoestring and never turn anyone away from their door.
We are able to provide these services through subsidies from local organisations such as RSLs, local churches and through fund raising.
In the 15 years since the Cottage started, they have provided excellent care for hundreds of clients through referrals from GPs and through awareness raising in the local communities. In recent years there has been an increasing demand for the Cottage’s services, with a further five centres being opened. It should be noted that this is not at the expense of commercial services. They are also run off their feet. This is a double edged sword. It means that the Cottage’s services are needed but it also means that they have to subsidise more, and with a growing operation with more counsellors, they also have increased admin costs.
DONATE MONEY HERE | FACEBOOK PAGE | THE COTTAGE WEBSITE
2. Why does the Cottage need your help?
There are more people than ever who need counselling but can’t afford commercial services. As a result, the Cottage has expanded and now operates 6 centres. But the Cottage policy of never turning away someone who genuinely needs counselling and genuinely cannot afford those services puts enormous pressure on costs. Unless the Cottage receives much needed funds, they will need to consider reducing services or closing their doors.
3. The Cottage has virtually no administrative overheads
The Cottage runs a very, very lean operation with just one full time employee – Genni, the Director of the Cottage. And even Genni does about 50% counselling and 50% being a Director. So that means your money will go directly to sustaining the frontline counselling services the Cottage provides.
4. Your money goes straight to the Cottage.
6.5% of every donation goes to Everyday Hero, the website that is hosting this fundraising effort. Apart from that, every cent of your donation goes directly into the Cottage’s bank account. No middlemen, no commissions, no fees.
Just out of curiousity, what is everydayhero? What do they do with their cut? Is there a way to donate directly?
hey julie,
here’s a little info on everydayhere: http://www.everydayhero.com.au/home/ethics_policy
as far as direct donation, you could send a cheque to the cottage: http://cottagecounselling.wordpress.com/location-map/narrabeen-location-map/
thanks for considering.
peaceout.
Dave – hope you don’t mind me jumping in here. Everyday hero does take a cut – 6.5%. But every other cent goes straight to the Cottage. In the scheme of things 6.5% is pretty lean considering that the service they provide makes it much easier for us to reach people and to accept donations. But you can certainly donate directly. Just contact the cottage directly at http://www.cottagecounselling.org.au. John
no worries at all. thanks for the input… and for the organising the team! :)