Queensland’s Emerging Philanthropist of the Year

Queensland’s Emerging Philanthropist of the Year knows plenty about philanthropy and giving, however, Dr Joel Dulhunty says the word philanthropy is still a bit foreign to him.

“From my medical training, I think about the Greek origins of the word, the first part meaning love and the second part meaning humankind, and paraphrasing that into something simpler – caring for people. That means a lot to me, and relates closely to our core Metro North Health value of compassion,” Dr Dulhunty said.

Dr Joel Dulhunty received the award at the annual Queensland Philanthropy Awards earlier this month, in the presence of 900 community and business leaders from around the state.

“I was honoured and thrilled to receive this award and humbled by the recognition for what has been an amazing team effort,” he said.

On receiving his award, Dr Dulhunty was described as an exemplary leader in healthcare philanthropy, which reflected his long-standing work with the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) Foundation, including the Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital partnership.

In 2020 Joel was instrumental in establishing Raise it for Redcliffe, a fundraising initiative for patient care, staff wellbeing and research at Redcliffe Hospital.

In the lead-up to Redcliffe Hospital Giving Day 2021, Joel rode a 500 km penny farthing cycle marathon – and a 2600 km bicycle ride from Cairns to Brisbane to raise funds for a senior nurse researcher position.”

Joel says he has always been inspired by a philosophy of paying it for forward and helping others.

“It is a joy to be able to use my love of cycling to fundraise and raise awareness for Redcliffe Hospital and the RBWH Foundation,” Dr Dulhunty said.

“I do have a sense of achievement for the many thousands of kilometres that my wife and I have cycled together to Raise it for Redcliffe, including the trip from Cairns to Redcliffe and the many laps around the hospital on my penny farthing.”

Dr Dulhunty holds executive leadership positions in research at both Redcliffe Hospital and the RBWH and says philanthropic support for research has been a particular driver for him over the years.

“At Redcliffe Hospital, that funding has allowed us to establish a senior nursing research position, support research fellowships, and the Co-design Research Internship Program involving 10 clinician and consumer research interns,” he said.

Dr Dulhunty says so much of what has been achieved has been a team effort.

“When I heard about the nomination, my first thought was about the many others who I have worked so closely with for Raise it for Redcliffe. When I read through the nomination it brought back so many wonderful memories of the Raise it for Redcliffe journey over the past five years,” he said.

“There are so many people to thank. I would like to thank RBWH Foundation for the nomination. I would like to thank Louise Oriti, Simone Garske, Cang Dang, Jodie Anderson-Bell, Janene Farr and other members of Redcliffe Hospital, RBWH Foundation and the Raise it for Redcliffe Strategic Fundraising Committee for their support, leadership and collaboration.

“I would like to thank the amazing Sharyn Tidswell, Raise it for Redcliffe’s Fundraising Manager, for the journey we have had together and for the many things I have learned from her, and my wonderful wife, Naoni, for the partnership and cycling adventures we have had in Raising it for Redcliffe.”

Days after receiving the award, Dr Dulhunty was back on the penny farthing, riding between Giving Day fundraising events at the RBWH and Redcliffe Hospital.
He says he doesn’t know what his next philanthropic adventure will be, but it’s likely to involve research or cycling – if not both!