Joining The Founding Circle holds a room within our centre for 12 months.
Currently FULL - reopens July 2027. Below are those who have opened our doors.
When it was time to bring our community centre to life, we put out the call… We needed funding, and we needed it urgently.
Rather than waiting, we invited our community to step forward and take personal sponsorship of one of our rooms. We asked for buy in, belief, and courage. And people answered.
This is not a sponsorship level. It is a closed group.
Rent is the single biggest cost we carry. It is also the least fundable: grants prefer programs, and nobody puts their name on a lease. If the rent isn't covered, nothing else we do happens.
So we split the Centre into its rooms and asked a small number of businesses to each hold one for a year. Between them, the Founding Circle covers the rent, and the doors stay open.
Anyone can be a corporate sponsor. Only 9 businesses a financial year can be in the Founding Circle, and once a room is held, it is held. Every room is currently taken.
The individuals holding rooms this financial year
The Founding Circle is made up of the individuals who stepped forward at a pivotal moment and helped change the trajectory of Somewhere To Go Foundation forever. Through their generosity and commitment, our centre moved from vision to reality.
There are 9 rooms sponsored within The Centre. Some are named and some are anonymous. Here, we honour them and acknowledge the role they played in building a place of safety, dignity and community.
Rooms are held to 30 June 2027. Current members have first right of renewal, so any place that opens is offered to them before it is advertised.
Annual Room Sponsorship is $10,000.
Joanne Thorne
Jo Thorne is the founder of Elevate Beyond Co and a valued member of our Founding Circle. Jo has supported Somewhere To Go Foundation from day one through ongoing monthly giving and by sponsoring one of our communal rooms within the community centre.
Jo is navigating her own domestic violence journey and, even while walking this path herself, has chosen to give back. Her support helps ensure that women and children entering our space are met with warmth, safety, and understanding at a time when connection matters most.
Through her work with Elevate Beyond Co and her partnerships within the community, including Find My Wild, Jo is deeply committed to empowering women and strengthening support networks for those rebuilding after abuse.
Her generosity reflects the importance of lived experience in shaping meaningful support. When survivors lead and stand together, real and lasting change becomes possible.
Charmaine Maree Caldwell
Charmaine is the founder, creator and CEO of VIXIN, an Australian made, cruelty free skincare brand built on transparency, ethical practices and science backed formulations that deliver real results. She chose to build something honest in an industry that too often hides behind glossy marketing and misleading claims — skincare that is effective and actually cares for people.
But what we love most about Charmaine is this: VIXIN was built with a mission to give back. Service, generosity and using business as a force for good is not an add on for her. It's the point.
Charmaine is a victim survivor of domestic violence and a fierce advocate in this space. She is deeply passionate about restoring women's beauty and worth, and working through her brand to support local charities like Somewhere To Go Foundation.
Alyce Aldous
Alyce Aldous founded The Greenhouse Therapies with a simple but powerful vision: to create a space where people can enter and be supported for the season they are in.
Alyce's work is grounded in an individualised, humanistic approach, shaped by her deep belief that healing is not linear and that each person's journey deserves to be met with care, curiosity and respect. Through creative arts therapies, she supports people to express, reflect and heal in ways that do not rely solely on words, recognising that some experiences are felt before they can be spoken.
Sponsoring the art therapy room is deeply meaningful to Alyce, as creative arts therapy is where her core practice began. Throughout her work she has seen time and again how powerful art therapy can be in helping people reconnect with themselves, process complex experiences and move toward healing. Supporting this space reflects both her professional journey and her heart for creating environments where growth, safety and restoration are possible.
Katharine McLean
Katharine is a Holistic Counsellor with over 24 years of experience leading counselling and family support services within the not-for-profit sector. Her connection to this work is both professional and deeply personal. With lived experience of domestic and family violence, Katharine spent years navigating cycles of toxic relationships and addiction before entering recovery and addressing the underlying childhood trauma that shaped these patterns.
Throughout her career she has led children's mental health services and programs supporting women and children impacted by domestic violence, giving her a strong understanding of generational trauma and what is required for long-term recovery. Today, through her business The Light Becomes Her, Katharine supports women to break long-standing relational patterns and create lasting change. Her work integrates somatic practices, subconscious reprogramming and inner child healing, helping women rebuild their lives with confidence and self-leadership.
This cause is personal to Katharine, and she remains committed to supporting pathways that provide safety, dignity and real healing for women and children.
Samantha Rillie
Samantha is the Managing Director of Real Life Skills Support Services, a leading NDIS provider on the Sunshine Coast built on a simple mission: creating real opportunities for people with disabilities to live more independent, connected lives. What began as a small cooking class for three participants has grown into a thriving organisation supporting hundreds each week, grounded in dignity, community and practical skill-building that genuinely changes lives.
Beyond her organisation, Sam is deeply driven by impact. She backs initiatives that create real access and opportunity, using her platform to lead, influence and give back in ways that are both strategic and human-first. Her philosophy is simple: build with purpose, back people, and raise the standard of what's possible.
Partnering with Somewhere To Go Foundation is a natural extension of how Sam already shows up. She understands that the hardest part isn't always the crisis. It's what comes after. The rebuilding. Creating safe spaces, restoring dignity and walking alongside people as they rebuild - for Sam, this isn't just alignment. It's a continuation of everything she stands for.
Harmony Rutledge
Harmony, CEO of ANNA'S leads with a deep belief in supporting women through every season of life, not just physically, but emotionally and within community. Built on education, empowerment and genuine care, the brand has become a trusted space for women seeking support, connection and understanding.
Supporting the Somewhere To Go Foundation aligns deeply with these values and the important work they do creating safe spaces, restoring dignity and walking alongside women and children during times of rebuilding and transition. Sponsoring the "Empowerment Room" felt especially meaningful. Empowerment is at the core of everything we believe in, creating spaces where women feel supported, capable, heard and reminded of their worth.
We understand that healing is not only about safety, but also about rebuilding identity, confidence and hope for the future. As a business grounded in empowerment and community, we are incredibly honoured to support the Somewhere To Go Foundation and stand beside an organisation creating real and lasting change for women and families within our community.
Greg Costello
Founded by Greg Costello in 2008, Caza Catering & Consultancy Services was built around a simple but powerful idea: creating a home away from home for people who are away from theirs.
At the heart of Caza is a belief in looking after people well. From nourishing, quality food to safe, clean and welcoming environments, their philosophy of “healthy body, healthy mind” is reflected in everything they do.
That philosophy makes their support of Somewhere To Go Foundation especially meaningful.
As one of our Founding Room Sponsors, Caza has helped create a place where women and children rebuilding after domestic and family violence can walk through the doors and experience that same feeling of being cared for, welcomed and having somewhere safe to belong.
We are incredibly grateful to Greg and the Caza team for investing in our vision from the beginning and helping us create Somewhere To Go.
Be in line for re-release July 2027
All nine rooms are held until 30 June 2027. Leave your details and we will come to you before the next round is advertised. Current members get first right of renewal, so the number of places is never guaranteed, but the waitlist is how you hear first.