Charity

Last night I carried a woman home from a charity fundraiser for children caught in illegal trafficking. Her generosity in spending a winter’s Sunday night helping others got me thinking about the disposed and needy and I recalled an earlier passenger who once worked in the media, quite close to Kerry Packer.

According to my passenger, Packer’s secretary received a call one Friday afternoon from a woman who operated a women’s refuge in Sydney. This woman had mortgaged her home to establish the refuge but after years of battling for government funding and staving off bankruptcy, the bank had finally given notice of foreclosure on her mortgage.

With one hour left and faced with losing her home, and the refuge collapsing, she rang Packer’s head office, despite being totally unknown to him. After tearfully explaining her plight to his secretary the Big Fella came on the line, listened to her story, asked a few questions and promised to do what he could.

The next morning, a Saturday, she was visited at home by a Packer accountant armed with legal documents. Packer had contacted her bank and paid off the $600,000 mortgage the previous evening. 

Additionally, back wages were provided for her staff, unpaid for three months. Last but not least he dropped five million bucks into the refuge to ensure it’s immediate future and requested he be kept informed regarding ongoing funding.

The only condition of the donation was for confidentially whilst ever Packer was alive. Now he’s gone I reckon this tremendous philanthropic story is worth telling. Onya Kezza.

Comments

[kae]

Hi Adrian
I think a lot of people were unaware of the not insignificant charitable financial contribution to society made by Kerry Packer.
He was a generous man.

[Grendel]

I like the fact he didn't want it known he was the donor. Gives it much more genuine meaning.

[AG Canberra]

KP also helped the NSW ambulance service. When he had his heart attack they pointed out to him that he was lucky enough to have been picked up by one of the few ambulances that were equipped with a defribrilator. Once recovered, he arranged to purchase one for EVERY ambulance in NSW....

[Cheryl]

Yes and the ambo's nicknamed them 'Packer Whackers' according to a Kerry Packer biography I read...

[sue]

Yeh but the Packer whackers' were not really an entirely altruistic gift -

he gave them after he was saved by one when all the NSW ambulances didn't have them so it could be argued he was just looking after himself in case he needed it again.

[jayjay]

Just think how much money KP could have saved just by keeping his own defibrillator on hand. No need for that altruism after all; happily he didn't think that way.

[John McCartney]

Yes there are people like that.
I wrote about Chuck Feeney and Irish American who gave away Billions of dollars to help people. The only condition was that it be done secretly. America changed the law so he had to give up his name. I met him on the eve of his disclosure to the Irish Times. There is one book about him"The Billionaire Who Wasn't" By Conor Cleary.
Chuck met Bill Gates at a dinner and told him about his Atlantic philanthropies and Bill then got the bug of giving while living.
Nial Mellon a financial investor has built thousands of houses in S.Africa, every year hundreds of volunteer's fly over and build more houses.
People like that make us human.

You know my blog dublintaxi.blogspot.com

There is a link on my sidebar marked "Prostitution" when they click on it it wakens them up.

[Nam]

Sue - don't be such a hater.

So what he gave a gift that he had a use for. Big deal. It's a gift nonetheless that benefits others.

The negativity in this world is unbelievable *shakes head*.

[Daniel Lewis]

Sue - get stuffed.

[Lorraine]

I never knew Kerry Packer was such a generous man. Thanks for the info!

[alice]

I once met a "society lady" who did some fairly hands-on work with the kids at Oasis Refuge in Surry Hills. She knew KP and she described how all she had to do was ring his secretary and say "Oh hello, it's V**** here, we need some dollars again," and he would immediately courier money over to her for the centre.

I agree with the commenter above who said his decision to remain anonymous makes his gestures even more impressive.