Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I wish to congratulate the staff, volunteers and generous donors to the Windgap Foundation for their gala ball on 12 May, which raised $125,000 for this wonderful association. Windgap was formed in 1953 by parents for intellectually disabled kids who could not get access to local schools. They established a premises in Coogee and named it Windgap after the name of the particular premises in which it was housed. The foundation supports people with intellectual disabilities to live their life with independence and integrity through its residential business enterprise and day program service.

Windgap empowers people in our community living with disabilities. Through their training programs, they provide the skills, competence and confidence for people to live independent lives. In the words of Ken Clapp, who is the oldest client and the longest-term client with Windgap in our area: 'I have my own life.'

Windgap is a wonderful community organisation. Their very famous Diamonds Choir recently performed the national anthem at the Botany council's Anzac service. Windgap runs a business program, so I encourage businesses throughout Australia to look up the services of Windgap and to get involved in them. Anyone interested in watching the Soccer World Cup in our community should come down to the Eastlakes community centre at 8 am on 4 June and watch it with the Windgap Warriors.

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