Delphine Trace (née McDougall) has been faithfully collecting for ADRA for more than 70 years. While still a student at the Mons Primary School, west of Buderim, Queensland, she started collecting in 1954 when she was 13 years of age. Delphine first heard about the ADRA Appeal while attending Yandina church with her grandparents. She took some brochures and decided to give it a try. One afternoon after school she approached a lady on horseback who was delivering mail for Australia Post and asked her for a donation. The lady responded positively and this began Delphine’s long ministry as an ADRA collector.
Living in the various places where her father’s work took the family, Delphine continued to collect. She remembers piling into the back of a ute with a group of young people from Nambour church and collecting from door to door.
During the three years as a student at Avondale University, Delphine, along with friends Glenda Harker (née Abbott) and Helen Hall, spent a week each year collecting in the Muswellbrook/Singleton areas. In the 1960s while working at the Sanitarium Factory, Cooranbong, Delphine would go into Newcastle and collect from 6-9pm.
In 1963 Delphine married Richard Trace and they set up home in Beaudesert. Here she continued to collect, sometimes with her husband, as well as caring for her three children. In 2005 the family settled in Morayfield where Delphine has become well known in her local neighbourhood. Many donors remember October as ADRA month and have their donations ready when she calls. A Fijian lady who usually gives $A50 recently moved to a different suburb, but she still wants to donate and has given Delphine her new address.
For many years, Delphine collected for ADRA at the Brisbane Exhibition. Other charities noticed her dependability and successful collecting skills and tried to coax her to collect for them, but Delphine chose to continue supporting ADRA.
“Every year Delphine visits the ADRA stall at Big Camp with the biggest smile on her face and a new story to share from her time collecting,” says Charlene Luzuk, national program director for ADRA Australia. “We are so grateful to Delphine for her decades of doorknocking. The ADRA Appeal is the largest source of funding for our programs in Australia. Doorknockers like Delphine are helping to feed, clothe, empower and connect Aussies in need.”
Despite being swooped by magpies and bitten by a dog, Delphine faithfully continues her collecting. Her friendly, caring nature has endeared her to many people.
When asked why she keeps on collecting, Delphine says, “The ADRA Appeal is very important, and it needs to be done every year. Somebody has to do it so that’s why I keep doing it.” In 2024, despite being 84 years old, Delphine collected $A1020.
Thank you Delphine for your faithful ministry. All the money you have collected over the past 70 years will have had a positive impact on so many lives.
This October, your church can get involved in raising crucial funds for the ADRA Appeal. Register your church to doorknock or to do a fundraiser of your choice at adra.org.au/appeal.
Lyn Ashby attends Caboolture church with Delphine. This article first appeared in Focus magazine, South Queensland Conference.
