Cate Bolt – a life with purpose

I first came across Cate  Bolt watching her wonderful twitter voice. She connected with her audience in such an authentic manner and I wondered who was this woman behind the ‘twitterverse’ voice.  She seemed to have so many varied interests and in a wide variety of causes.

Cate calls herself an ordinary mum, living through all the seasons of life, the highs and lows. But there is also a very special quality evident when Cate shares her stories…she shows us all that a life with purpose enriches not just the lives of our own loved ones but changes lives in the wider community too!

On January 6, 2010, Cate sent the Twitterverse abuzz with her open letter to  the then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh that opens with this words: “My name is Catherine Bolt and I am many things. Firstly, I am one of the estimated 100,000 homeless people living in Australia today.”
Her campaign for homelessness infused with a personal experience of it, became a social media phenomenon.

Let’s meet Cate Bolt

Cate Bolt is a mother of 9, writer, humanitarian & social activist. She is dedicated to improving the lives of others through compassion, fundraising, awareness and by motivating others to take action.

She is the President & Founder of Project 18 which exists to raise funds for humanitarian and conservation projects, the first of which was an orphanage in Bali, which is now operational.

Project 18 is currently running Auctions for Education to fund the education sponsorship of children in Bali who didn’t meet the criteria for acceptance into the orphanage but who are severely socially disadvantaged due to their inability to afford to go to school.

Project 18’s youth initiative Planet You works to educate kids in Australia about topics that are relevant to today’s youth market. Researched, presented, produced & edited entirely by young people, the series is fronted by The You Crew – 6-year-old Ailish and 15-year-old Ash.

Ailish & Ash are continuing the tradition and are now official Joey Ambassadors for Australia Zoo’s Wildlife Warriors.

Cate is also the Patron of Cate’s Cause – a national appeal against homelessness. Cate’s commitment to the cause of homelessness commenced when she found her family without a home, living in tents at Christmas time 2009. Her Open Letter to Prime Minister the Hon Kevin Rudd & the Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh MP, caused great controversy and discussion on the topic of homelessness in Australia.

Cate’s trade-mark shaved head is a result of shaving 15 years of hair growth to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave in 2010.

Amongst the cause’s Cate is passionate about are:

• Poverty
• The Indonesian child sex trade
• Education
• Homelessness & housing affordability
• Empowerment
• Domestic Violence
• Equality to special needs children
• The reduction of non-sustainable Palm Oil production
• Orang-utan & Sumatran Tiger conservation

On a personal note, Cate is happily married, madly in love with her children and an avid and obsessed “Lostie” (fan of the TV show Lost). She loves chocolate (without palm oil) and cannot live without her one good coffee per day.