It is a privilege and pleasure to be elected as th President of Every Child Central Queensland Inc. This opportunity is both exciting and challenging and offers me a great sense of purpose in my retirement. I have a great team and am excited to be moving forward at a time when ECCQ is in a huge growth phase in local communities. The communities that take ownership of the matters that concern them and collectively work at solutions are more resilient and are more likely to thrive. The ‘it’s government’s problem’, ‘the school’s problem’, or ‘someone else’s problem’ attitude achieves little and usually results in short-term fixes and long-term pain for communities.

I believe it is the collective strength of communities that have the best chance to positively shift the dial on complex social issues and make a sustainable long-term change. I see the Collective Impact model being used by ECCQ as a breath of fresh air in building community resilience and wellbeing. It moves away from the ‘do it to the community’ approach to a ‘do it with the community’ approach and that is the real difference. This chance to make a lasting and systemic change in the way complex social problems are dealt with in our communities is what attracted me to become involved with ECCQ. It won’t be easy and it won’t be achieved tomorrow, but the start must be made or CQ’s ‘at risk’ and ‘vulnerable’ children upward trajectory will continue. We must grasp this opportunity now and create a movement for change!

I am particularly keen for our communities to partner with our ’Empowering community to empower community’ initiative. Communities that can move forward with a shared vision and clear purpose – essential elements to build collective ways of working – will have a stronger sense of relationship, connection, responsibility and achievement. Focusing on hearing community voices will provide opportunities to hear real stories and gain awareness of the hopes, concerns and ideas from those communities to inform the way forward. I look forward to witnessing and celebrating the emergence of empowered community leaders throughout this process.

As ECCQ President I invite you to become involved in whatever way works for you. As we develop more on our journey, opportunities for involvement will be wide and varied. We would love to hear from people with a passion for making a difference in a socially innovative way. Click on the ‘Get Involved’ button and our Volunteer Coordinator will contact you.

Our recent review of governance arrangements has brought fresh energy as we focus on the next phase of this important work. These changes will ensure ECCQ Inc. continues to thrive and provide a solid platform for the future to ensure every child has every chance to reach their full potential.

Maxine Brushe