When Sydney-based entrepreneur Darshak Mehta heard about the plight of a local 15-year-old girl who was refused shelter at a safe house for homeless children, he knew what he had to do.
He took it to his board at the Chappell Foundation, of which he is co-founder and Chair. Together they raised funds for the Taldumande Youth Services (which was at capacity the night the teenaged girl knocked on its doors), to buy a larger property.
“I told my board, if people like Taldumande come to us for money, you and I are not going to be responsible for turning away a 15-year-old, betrothed by her family to a 40-year-old stranger,” Mehta told Indian Link.
When he founded the Chappell Foundation with Greg Chappell in 2017, they concurred, “If we can change even one life as a consequence of this, it would be absolutely amazing.”
Seven years later, Mehta noted, “I’m underplaying this, but we have now changed hundreds of lives.”
At its annual fundraising dinner held last month, the Chappell Foundation raised more than $400,000 in aid of seven charities that care for homeless young people, Taldumande being one of them.
Following tradition, the high-profile dinner was held at the Sydney Cricket Ground’s Noble Dining Room. As usual, drinks were served on the hallowed turf, as the sun went down on a spectacular evening.
Some 465 guests came together to find a way to donate, and to listen to cricket legend and special guest Adam Gilchrist chat with broadcaster and writer Adam Spencer on stage.
In attendance were the Who’s Who of the cricket world (including no less than four Australian captains: Adam Gilchrist, Alex Blackwell, Rachel Haynes, and Greg Chappell of course), CA dignitaries, a whole host of other sporting legends such as paralympian Louise Savage, swimmer Daniel Kowalski and former Prime Minister John Howard as well as Olympic royalty, IOC Vice-President John Coates.
Mehta used his chairman’s speech to send the message out loud and clear about the Foundation’s mission, no stone unturned.
“Governments which are happy to commit $400 billion to splash eight boats in the water silently, should be pressured to find a third of that to fix homelessness in Australia, FIRST. RIGHT NOW. Their hand wringing has got to stop. Let us focus on the battle we already have at our door, and stop helping the Yanks wage their endless wars.”
In his speech, Greg Chappell spoke about how the Foundation was born.
“As I walked past Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne each morning, the sight of homeless youth finding ways to protect themselves from the winter, worried me. How could this happen in an affluent country like ours?”
Today his efforts have directly helped those in need, at charity partners The Burdekin Association, Stepping Stone House, WAYS Youth and Family, Raw Potential, Coffee Brigade, BackTrack Youth Works and Taldumande.
The fundraising dinner heard first-hand from BackTrack, as its founder Bernie Shakeshaft spoke briefly about its activities, and teenagers Chenara and Lucas spoke about how their lives were positively transformed.
Mehta said of them, “We want to lift these boys and girls by the bootstraps – get them out of their trauma and educate them and mentor them and get them to trust adults again, and hopefully get into the job market with some qualifications and some confidence.”
Describing the charities supported by the Chappell Foundation, Mehta said, “They don’t have huge income streams from either the corporate sector or from the government. They do different stuff – some focus on shelter, some on education, some on feeding people, some on all of the above; the commonality between them, is that they are all at the coalface, and are doing fantastic work. The Coffee Brigade in Brisbane for example, for who we are the largest funders, park their vans every morning at two spots in the city, and provide hot coffee and a snack for whoever shows up, every day of the year.”
Two directors are appointed for each charity, who receive updates every three months on programs and activities.
The Chappell Foundation is well-known for being fully volunteer-run: every cent raised goes to the intended recipients.
“Yes, we are unique in that regard,” Mehta explained. “We are almost a ghost charity. There’s no staff, no marketing, no advertisements, no overheads. We don’t even have an office – my home address is the registered address. Donors have the confidence that their donations are going straight to where they are needed, and that there are directors overseeing the spending of the monies collected.”
A long list of eminent patrons have lent their support – Sir Peter Cosgrove, Dame Quentin Bryce, Patrick Rafter, Basil Sellers, Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell, John McMurtrie etc.
Mehta is grateful for their backing, but admits it is also what keeps him up at night.
“These are people who are obviously at the top of their professions, well regarded by society. They have lent us the most precious thing I believe they have: their reputation. They can’t make it back. Which is why we would do everything by the book, in trying to enhance them.”
The real support of course comes from the community – those individuals and companies that put the money on the table, and those who donate the big-ticket items for the auctions.
“As a charity, we beg and beg and beg,” Mehta laughed. “We have to, because that is our model – to have very minimal cost so that 100 % goes to our beneficiaries.”
The deep networks that each of the board members have built over the years, come in handy.
“We might ask Cricket NSW to donate a box at an upcoming test match. Then we might ask Merivale to donate catering worth $2500. When this sells as a package for $25,000 at the fundraiser, you can see the love for us in the room. Or when Qantas tickets worth $20,000 are bid for $36,000.”
He added, “We dould not have achieved whatever we have without the active support of Greg, and the committed hard work of my Board colleagues.”
The Chappell Foundation Dinner
The annual fundraising dinner, the Chappell Foundation’s flagship event, has become one of the leading social events in Sydney’s cricketing circles. The announcement of the special guest is keenly awaited. Adam Gilchrist this year has equally worthy predecessors in the Chappell Brothers themselves, Ricky Ponting, Tim Paine, Shane Warne. Yet the Foundation is not “fixated on cricketers for dinner speakers”, Darshak clarified. He let slip that race car driver Daniel Ricciardo or cultural icons Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett could be attractive, and that one of his own favourite dinners was the one where Jimmy Barnes was special guest.
“Barnesy got up and – impromptu – sang! He brought the house down literally. That we can’t forget.”
Another favourite memory is from last year, when Rasan Gujral of Surjit’s Restaurant donated a cook-at-home experience for ten people.
Bidding started with Mehta himself offering $2000. “It rose gradually to $18,000, and then the bidder began to bid against himself, until he hit $28,000. There was a buzz in the room, with plenty of laughter. People do splash it around – and we feel lucky that they are there. You don’t want money from people who can’t afford it. But the people who can afford it are very happy to spend it up big, knowing that it’s all going for a great cause.”
Mehta also recalled a tense moment in 2018, when main guest Shane Warne called a few days before the event to say he could not make it.
“He was a mentor for Rajasthan Royals at the time and the team were doing well. Meanwhile we had sold 400 seats. We panicked. Ultimately Ian and Greg talked Warnie back in. Gilly this year was also in Bombay a week prior and came back for the event. It’s a warm feeling that people do this for us all the time.”
Upcoming at the Chappell Foundation, is the Sports Stars Sleepout held during Homelessness Week in August. Eminent sportspeople of various ages have participated, sleeping out in the open with just cardboards and plastic sheets to replicate the real thing.
The funds they raise will go towards helping people like Amanda, who Mehta met recently at Stepping Stone House.
“She was a wonderfully confident young woman, in her thirties,” he recalled. “I was surprised to learn that she had been one of the first – and most difficult – residents at Stepping Stone House, having run away from home. She now has a job, a car, and is married with two kids.”
Learn more about The Chappell Foundation at www.thechappellfoundation.com
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