Author Archives: Josh Dalton

Empowering the Next Generation of Investors.

On Thursday the 9th of November, Dalton FP hosted an investment seminar for the children of our current clients. Our goal was to provide them with a greater knowledge and understanding of investments.

The seminar was a great success, with over 20 young adults in attendance. Josh, Denyse and Shane were knowledgeable and engaging, and the children were eager to learn. They were taught the basics of investing and given tips on how to make smart investment decisions.

We believe that it’s never too early to start learning about investments, and we were thrilled to see the enthusiasm of the young attendees. We hope that they left the seminar with a greater understanding of the world of finance and the confidence to make wise investment decisions in the future.

Posted by Josh Dalton on November 30, 2023 | Permalink

The Hard Reality of Homelessness

Eyes are closed but your mind remains awake. Shivering and cold, the warmth seems almost impossible to reach. It starts to rain but you have no other option than to feel each cold drop on your skin. No sleep, no warmth, no food and no hope.

A few of us at Dalton experienced these exact feelings on Thursday the 22nd of June. We participated in the Vinnies CEO sleepout 2023 and raised a total of $12,600. Thank you to all the donors for their support.

Most of us are lucky enough to have a roof over our heads, dinner on the table and a family to come home to. This experience has taught us that we should all pause and reflect as not all of us share the same reality.

One Step Closer to a Cancer Free World

Yasmine Brockhurst, 14 years of age has never cut her hair.

After her Poa Poa (grandmother) passed away from Cancer earlier this year, Yasmine wanted to give her support by creating a fundraiser for cancer research at QIMR Berghofer in hope to save the life of someone else.

In addition, Yasmine cut her hair for the first time and will be donating it to Sustainable Salons to be used for wigs for those whom are not as fortunate to have hair.

Dalton Financial Partners was proud to have donated $715 to support Yasmine and this fundraiser in hope to come one step closer to a Cancer free world.

One delighted girl

From chopsticks to a bow, and now a brand-new violin of her own, Vienna is on her way to making her dreams become a reality.

Vienna’s mother shared with us:

‘’Vienna walked out with a beautiful full-size violin today, and of a quality. We couldn’t have achieved this on our own. We’re so grateful for the gift your sponsorship is to her, for how it opens space for her passions to grow and improve. She’s one delighted girl”.

We love nothing more than to see others succeed, especially young ones striving towards their dreams.

Dalton FP is proud to continue supporting Vienna throughout this journey.  

To educate girls is to reduce poverty

Those wise words were spoken by Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations. 

And it is with those wise words in mind, that Dalton Financial Partners continues their support of Poon and her family in Thailand. They are a family of four girls, led by their hard working single Mother Khun Pui, who are striving for a better future in Thailand through better education. 

As you can imagine, 2021 was a difficult year for everyone, this inspiring family included. The difficulties of lockdown and studying online have been extremely challenging in Thailand. Many students do not have access to laptops and smart devices at home, or even wifi. These technologies are a luxury that we take for granted. 

But despite the setbacks of the pandemic, all the girls in this family are continuing their study. And finding joy in their hobbies along the way.

The eldest daughter Poon is now in her third year of university. As well as studying, she is also working part time in the office of UNOH, working towards her dream of working in Japan in the tourism industry. 

Poon’s younger sisters are now also continuing their studies, Pin just had her first year at University, and Boom, Baam and Pun-Pun are continuing with their high school studies online. 

Despite doing well in their studies, the financial situation of this family has been impacted by the pandemic. 

Because of COVID-related disruption to Pin’s university entrance, she is now attending a non-government university where the costs are significantly more per year. The next five years are a critical time for this family as the girls grow older and reach university age, the fees will rise and the financial burden on this single Mum will increase. 

The support of Dalton Financial Partners is more important than ever. This support enables these young women to receive opportunities to learn and in turn create more opportunities for others. 

Posted by Josh Dalton on November 29, 2021 | Permalink

Turning a dream into a reality

There is no doubt that the future generation is very inspiring, with bigger dreams and aspirations than any other generation before them. 

There is nobody that fits that category of young and inspirational more than Vienna, a 12 year old budding musician, playing the violin with the Sunshine Coast Youth Orchestra. 

Vienna dedicates hours of her life to practising and playing the violin, her dream to one day study at the Conservatory for Music in Brisbane. 

Vienna’s life as a violinist began at just age two. 

An age where most children are only just learning to run and talk, Vienna heard a family member play a violin. She immediately picked up a pair of chopsticks and began trying to imitate how they were playing. The chopsticks were soon replaced with a bow, with professional lessons beginning at age eight. She was a natural.

Every week Vienna plays and practices the instrument, taking part in ensembles and workshops. Her mother never has to remind her to practice, she loves playing so much and enjoys nothing more than playing for people. Without nerves or hesitation, she shines on stage. 

The sort of dedication it takes to be a musician, especially in someone so young, is a huge endeavour, both personally and financially.

Dalton Financial Partners is proud to provide Vienna an ongoing music scholarship valued at over $5,000 per year, which she can use for extra lessons and workshops. We recognise the importance of the arts and supporting young people in their dreams. This scholarship will help Vienna maximise her potential as a musician. 

With the support of Dalton Financial Partners, Vienna hopes to one day audition for the Queensland Youth Orchestra. We cannot wait to see her achieve this dream and to be in the audience when she plays.

Posted by Josh Dalton on September 27, 2021 | Permalink

Make life better for those struggling in the here and now.

That philosophy is something that Josh is trying to practice at Dalton Financial Partners. In 2015, while travelling in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Janine, Josh learned about a charity organisation called Urban Neighbours of Hope (UNOH)

UNOH is a Christian Missionary, but unlike a traditional missionary who provides only spiritual guidance, the members of UNOH become part of impoverished communities, bringing practical help to those in need. They try to reduce the burden of poverty at a grassroots level. 

The UNOH volunteers based in Bangkok actually live in the slums with their own families, setting up social enterprises and helping families who are experiencing extreme poverty. They do this by supporting orphaned children, teaching children English, setting up op shops to provide clothing and jobs and providing whatever practical support they can. This can be as simple as caring for children while their parents work, or providing food and comfort. They become part of the community by living alongside them. 

Not everyone can pack up their lives and their families and live in the slums. But during his 2015 Bangkok trip, and finding out about the incredible work that UNOH was doing, Josh did see a way he could help.

After meeting a single Mum of four daughters, who was struggling to send them to school and spend any time with them while working long hours, Josh saw a practical way he could provide assistance. As someone who values education and was privileged enough to receive such a good education himself, Josh wanted to see other children be given the best chance in life through proper education. 

With that understanding that we are all equal, no matter who we are or where we are from, Josh and Janine began sponsoring the single Mother and her daughters, sending over $2,500 per year to pay for their schooling. 

The eldest daughter Poon, has shown a real love for learning and is now studying tourism and Japanese at University. She wants to move to Japan and launch her career. To help support this dream, Josh and Janine have recently gifted her a new laptop, as her previous one had seen better days.

This kind of support helps to lift the burden of poverty, and makes a real practical difference to the lives of children who otherwise may not have been able to continue their education. 

Creating Opportunity

Returning to work after having children can be very challenging. With the high cost of childcare, an extended career gap and the lack of part time opportunities, many highly educated and qualified women are struggling to find a work situation that makes sense for their long term career goals. 

Despite these challenges, the government has recognised that women returning to the workplace is fundamental to pulling the economy out of recession. 

The latest budget for the 2021-22 period has a strong focus on the female workforce, and highlighted women’s workforce participation to be an economic and social imperative that is essential to building the workforce required to support economic growth and Australia’s future prosperity. 

One of the five action areas the Government has highlighted to improve women’s workforce participation, is workplace flexibility.

Dalton FP is leading the way in providing flexible workplace arrangements for women returning to the workforce.

Dalton FP has recently hired Sally and Sarah, two educated and highly qualified Client Services Officers, to job share. Both employees are local Mums returning to the workforce after having an extended career gap to have children. While neither employee could work full time, Dalton FP recognised the strengths that they could each bring to the role, so offered a job share arrangement instead.

Job Sharing allows two qualified applicants to share the one role by each working part time

Job sharing allows employees to leave the office on their days off, knowing that their workload is in safe hands and that the job is being managed. This type of arrangement takes a lot of the stress of working part time away. Because as many part time working women will attest to, just because the role is part time, the workload is still full time. 

For the employer, they are getting two sets of skills with two sets of ideas and experience for the role. Each employee will have their own strengths and can also support the other in annual leave and sick leave arrangements.

Both Sally and Sarah have vast experience in the financial planning industry and were keen to get back to work. But with young families to support, they knew it would be difficult to find working arrangements that financially made sense for them to work. 

By Dalton FP offering a job share opportunity, they could return to work in a role that reflected their experience, while also having time with their children during those early years and the cost of childcare not becoming disproportionate to the amount they were being paid. 

Australia has a high proportion of highly educated women. But despite this, Australia also has a huge gender pay gap. 

According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, flexible working arrangements such as job sharing, drives employee engagement and productivity as well as boosting employee well-being and happiness.

One way of driving down the gender pay gap is having women in more management and senior roles, that reflects their skills and qualifications. Job sharing is just one way that women can return to the workplace earlier, thereby increasing their chances of progressing in their careers. 

Dalton FP is supporting women in the workplace by not just offering flexible working arrangements, but the chance of furthering education and offering career progression by putting women in management roles. 

As a financial planning company dedicated to securing their client’s financial future, Dalton FP understands that having loyal, experienced and well rounded employees is paramount to running a successful business and providing the best for the clients. It is not just about the amount of hours that a person works, but the value that each employee brings to a role while they are there. 

The Gift of Giving

Over the Christmas break, Steven and Robyn Rapley (owners of Kitchen Crew) gave a generous donation of $1,000 to the Children’s Cancer Institute in hope to make a difference.

Dalton Financial Partners made a promise to our clients to match any donations that were made over the Christmas break. In honor of that promise, we have donated another $1,000 to the organsisation.

We hope you all had a beautiful Christmas and New Year.

Children’s Cancer Institute

Christmas is that time of the year where we give, we love, and we create lifelong memories. This year, Dalton Financial Partners has donated $2,000 to the Children’s Cancer Institute. This organisation solely exists to put an end to childhood cancer. We hope that our donation will make a difference for the children in need as we believe everyone deserves to live a long-fulfilled life.

Posted by Josh Dalton on December 14, 2020 | Permalink