Salvos and Rotary launch ground-breaking report
- deansimpson7
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
BY ANTHONY CASTLE
Leaders of the Path of Hope Foundation and The Salvation Army in Perth have launched The Hope Report 2025.
Launched by Chair of the Path of Hope Foundation Rebecca Tolstoy AM – along with The Salvation Army’s Territorial Commander Commissioner Miriam Gluyas, Majors Darrell and Chelsea Wilson, and Warren Palmer – the groundbreaking report is drawn from Path of Hope, a joint initiative between the Rotary Club of Perth and the Salvos.
The Hope Report is a 100-year intergenerational initiative aimed at raising awareness and supporting victims of family and domestic violence.
“Our partnership with The Salvation Army is invaluable,” explains Rebecca Tolstoy AM, Chair of the Path of Hope Foundation.
“Through the Salvos’ refuges and essential services for women and children, the report is grounded in lived experience while also shaping wider awareness and prevention efforts. Together, we combine research, advocacy, and practical support to break the intergenerational cycle of family violence.”
Established in 2008 by two Swedish mothers – Helena Everkrans-Smith and Rebecca Tolstoy – Path of Hope began as a partnership between Rotary and The Salvation Army in Perth.
Formally launched in 2013, the foundation leverages the organisational strength of Rotarians – locally, nationally, and internationally – to support vital services addressing family and domestic violence.
“I had moved to Australia in 2008,” explains Rebecca. “I felt it was important to do something for women and children. I started volunteering with The Salvation Army in 2008 and joined Rotary in 2011. The Salvation Army does the work with women and children, so our roles are to provide support to that work.”
Path of Hope brings together Rotarians and community members to raise awareness, promote healthy relationships and generate funds to support The Salvation Army’s shelters and programs.
Path of Hope has launched several projects, such as garden makeovers, learning centre renovations, mentoring programs and community awareness campaigns.
“This relationship with Rotary started with a simple conversation in 2008 with Rebecca Tolstoy and myself, together with Major Margaret McDonald,” explains Warren Palmer, State External Communications Manager for The Salvation Army.
“It has grown into a fantastic collaborative partnership that has contributed over $1 million in financial support for our family and domestic violence services and over $1 million in support for infrastructure projects.
The Hope Report is the synthesis of all the data recorded by the intern teams at the Path of Hope Foundation.
Spearheaded by Rebecca and Professor Stella Tarrant, an expert in gender and criminal law, the project began in 2021 with a focus on researching global legislation abolishing corporal punishment of children.
“We start with law,” Rebecca says. “The report maps where legislation enables violence against women and children. It’s being built by interns, and we’re having to unpack different laws, different jurisdictions and different ways to apply it. We are starting to map what Rotarians and the Salvos are doing as well.”
What started as a project with a single intern has since engaged 63 interns, ‘Rotary Champions’, who continue tracking legislative progress in both public and private settings. By highlighting successful bans and their societal benefits, the project encourages nations to adopt evidence-based strategies that are adapted to local contexts.
“We mentor students to contribute to the report,” Rebecca says. “The point of the report is to bring together Rotarians from around the world, often business people. We created a map that demonstrates the places in the world where there is legislation that enables violence against children.”
Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbours, friends, leaders and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe. With the Path of Hope initiative inspiring Rotary Clubs and local Salvation Army operators in the USA, the partnership could grow well into the future.
“This can be a global framework,” Rebecca says. “Neither The Salvation Army nor Rotary are obligated to a partnership, but we are building a system whereby local Rotarys can contact The Salvation Army and offer help. Path of Hope is solely a Rotary and The Salvation Army partnership. It’s a collaboration. Where there is a Rotary club and The Salvation Army, you can have Path of Hope.”
The Hope Report 2025 is now available to read online here
