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ANNUAL REPORT 2020 | 7 THANK YOU It is with the deepest gratitude that we thank our supporters and those special donors who have passed away and left us a wonderful gift in their will. A deepfelt thanks to our Council who has also volunteered their time throughout the year. They have been a great foundational support to the continuation of funding neurological research. We’ve packed a lot into the last year and it all comes down to you, our supporters. Without your enthusiasm for funding neurological research and generous support, we simply couldn’t have achieved any of what you’re about to read – so thank you. Without you, there is no pathway to hope. RICH EASTON, CEO joining the Foundation, hearing about his journey with epilepsy. He described the profound impact it had throughout his life, including the wonderful support from those around him, friends, family and work colleagues over so many years. His support for the Foundation was to encourage researchers to help those impacted by epilepsy, which is one of the most rewarding experiences the Foundation gets when visiting supporters or meeting them at our events. Community is everything, and without you, we wouldn’t have been able to support this project. With over 40 events nationwide this past year, we were able to bring you more on the research, clinicians and scientists you help fund. We also ramped up our Women in Science event series, hosting events in four different regions across the country, celebrating the diversity and accomplishments of female scientists and clinicians. With your help, we were able to expand our Brain Awareness Month event schedule by adding in five more regional locations. However, due to COVID-19, we had to postpone the second half. When it’s the right time we will be back out there, reaching out to you throughout the country. This year was our very first time participating in Port of Auckland’s fun run, Round the Bays! With your support, encouragement and strength, the Foundation team walked 850,040 steps towards supporting more neurological research. It was a humbling experience to have so many people in our community come out and support neurological research. Along with our event growth, our digital awareness has also expanded. The new website makeover was finally able to go live in November 2019 making it much more accessible for you to donate online, look at our current research and engage with the Foundation. We’ve also been able to share more research articles with you, utilising our website and videos of our past events. No one could have predicted the impact that COVID-19 would have in the past months. Many of our scientists and clinicians were affected directly by COVID-19 with their labs, staff and research all put on hold due to lockdown. Because of the generous support of our donors, including those who have passed away leaving the Foundation a gift in their will, we were able to support those researchers through this difficult time. This assistance spans both the 2019/20 and 2020/21 financial year and totals over $800,000, to support as many students, scientists and clinicians as possible.