SMSA (Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts)
The following were awarded in 2013 by the Board on the recommendation of the Grants Committee.
Grahame Marks, Secretary of the SMSA, presenting grants to:
Jane Baker of the National Council of Women (NSW); Nicci Lindemann of 2RPH along with SMSA director, Win Ramdas; and Barbara McKellar and Margaret Price of the Benjamin Andrew Footpath Library.
Grants and Scholarships
A number of grants were made in 2013 to organisations or people whose needs fitted into our Charter:
2RPH — $15,000
2RPH (Radio Station for the Print Handicapped) provides a radio reading service that reads newspapers and magazines for the benefit of those who have difficulties reading for themselves.
AMISA — $1,000
AMISA (Association of Mechanics’ Institutes and Schools of Arts) is a peak body for Mechanics’ Institutes and Schools of Arts in Australia, and aims to provide information and advice to these organisations.
The Benjamin Andrew Footpath Library — $10,000
The Footpath Library aims to make books more accessible to the homeless and disadvantaged members of our society, change our attitudes to these people and encourage literacy.
The Julian Ashton Art School — $6,000
Established in 1890, the Julian Ashton Art School is Australia’s oldest continuous fine art school. Based in the Rocks, their former students include Sir William Dobell, John Olsen, Brett Whiteley and Thea Proctor and many other prominent Australian artists.
The Scholars for 2014 (awarded in November 2013) were:
Full-time Scholarship — Michael Simms
Part-time Scholarship — Helen Connolly
The National Council of Women (NSW) — $1,080
The National Council of Women (NSW)) is a non-government umbrella organisation with broadly humanitarian and educational objectives.
The recipient of the National Council of Women (NSW) Australia Day prize sponsored by the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts was Jessica Stanley.
Prizes
In years past, the Board of the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts gave sums of money to the University of Sydney, the University of Technology, Sydney and the University of Western Sydney, providing an endowment for prizes to be awarded annually at these Universities.
The following prizes were awarded for work in the 2012 academic year and presented in 2013:
University of Sydney
Maxwell E Arthur Prize in Australian Literature — Megan Nancy Nash
University of Technology, Sydney
Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts Award in Adult Education — Paul Walton
University of Western Sydney
Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts Award in Professional Writing — Amy Kirk
Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts Award in Theoretical Studies — Jaydene Elvin
Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts Award in Humanities — Jasmine Fischer
Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts Award in Social Science — Andrew J Agius
Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts Award in Health — Bo Chu Ng
Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts Award in Nursing — Annette Harnett
Donations
Cancer Council NSW — $500
Cancer Council NSW is a community funded, community focused cancer charity dedicated to the defeat of cancer.
Hazel Hawke Alzheimer’s Research — $500
At Hazel’s request, Alzheimer’s Australia established the Hazel Hawke Alzheimer’s Australia Research and Care Fund in 2003 to support dementia care research across Australia.