PROSH is a satirical newspaper charity published by the University of Western Australia Student Guild and is known for its humorous and irreverent content that pokes fun at various aspects of university life, as well as current events and political figures. The newspaper is entirely created and written by UWA students, and it is also distributed by the student body throughout the City of Perth. The emphasis is often on charities that are less well known, with less glamorous causes, particularly those that are youth-run or youth-focused. Many are based in WA and/or can show the PROSH money would be used for a particular project of community benefit.
Beginning in 1931, PROSH began as the Sruss-Sruss which, In the midst of the Depression, “the Lord Mayor’s Fund for the relief of unemployment” was announced as the beneficiary. In the 1950’s the Sruss-Sruss began known as “PROSH” which was derived from the inability of inebriated students to pronounce the word “procession” without a slight slur.
PROSH is a UWA tradition and has held such a sacred place on the UWA calendar, that the UWA Senate cancels classes for the morning of PROSH.
PROSH has evolved into a prominent beneficiary event that raises over $50,000 in a single day every year - making it one of the largest single day charity event in the Southern Hemisphere.
After being involved in PROSH for my first three years of university, I felt that it was time for myself to apply to direct PROSH in 2018. It was a dream of mine to organise something that is a cornerstone of culture in the City of Perth, while also contributing to the betterment of lives for others.
Directing PROSH provided myself with with a variety of skills that can be useful in both their personal and professional life. Some of these skills include:
Communication
Leadership
Project management
Empathy and compassion
Adaptability
Role Requirements
Organisation and facilitation of one of Western Australia’s most reputable charity events.
Stakeholder management including the University of Western Australia, UWA Student Guild, City of Perth, various charities and UWA Campus Management.
Ensuring the continued support and furthering of both PROSH and UWA for the future.
Media training, budgeting and fund management.
Facilitating over one thousand student participants at the main event, including training of over 50 marshals.
Branding, marketing and engagement to both students and the wider community through various mediums.
Event management planning and risk management planning.
Charity engagement with students, staff, alumni and the public.
Key Achievements
$55,000 raised on PROSH Day.
Highest number of participants in a PROSH event since 2012.
Effective risk and complaint management with City of Perth.
Increased safety management of students and increased the level of information and training provided to marshals.
Honourably mentioned, and recognised in Federal Parliament by MP Madeleine King, Member for Brand.
2018 Beneficiaries
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Angelhands has been supporting survivors of extreme trauma for over 15 years. The support that angelhands provides encourages a reconnection for members of the community who have experienced assault, sexual assault, rape and domestic abuse; or are the secondary victims of homicide and suicide. If successful, angelhands would use funds raised by PROSH to host two of our residential retreats which support up to 12 clients to move from surviving to thriving and train 3 Trauma Recovery Angels to continue to support the vulnerable within our community.
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Orange Sky is the world’s first free mobile laundry service for people experiencing homelessness. Every week Orange Sky completes more than 7,200kgs of laundry and provides 150 showers for our friends who are homeless or disadvantaged. The Perth North laundry van currently provides over 65 washes per week. This van is an important platform for facilitating conversations between our volunteers and friends on the street, and referrals to community services. Funds raised and donated by PROSH will be directed to the volunteer recruitment and training costs including the provision of Mental Health First Aid training to our Perth volunteers
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Samaritans is a not-for-profit Crisis Support Community group to save and improve the quality of lives of those in crisis, in despair or suicidal. Funding will be directed to the volunteer crisis support training program. This will contribute positively to The Samaritans achieving the goal of ‘No Call Unanswered.’ Every $10000 raised will allow us to train 10 new Crisis Support volunteers. Crisis Support Volunteers answer on average 7 calls per shift. If the volunteer does 50 shifts per year, an additional 10 volunteers could answer 3500 calls in a year from those in crisis or socially isolated. 250 of the calls will be directly suicide related.
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Leading Youth Forward was founded in 2011 by a group of older Uni Camp for Kids (UCFK) volunteers to extend support for disadvantaged and at-risk Perth kids beyond the UCFK age cutoff at 12 years. The LYF program is run 100% by volunteer mentors to offer 1-1 mentoring for underprivileged Perth teens aged 12-15. We aim to deliver life affirming experiences, one-on-one support and encouragement to over 90 teenagers each year at a critical stage in their lives. Every dollar raised help to run our weekend camp and program of events.