A comedian, TV presenter, producer, and host of Have You Been Paying Attention?, Tom Gleisner has had many roles in his life.
WATCH BELOW: Tom Gleisner in the Logies media room
One of those roles includes being the co-founder of Learning For Life, a centre that provides early intervention to autistic children, which he started alongside his wife Mary Muirhead in 2004.
Utilising his extensive career in media, Tom was able to get plenty of people on board to help out in their efforts with the organisation.
It was something he and his wife were passionate about, and it’s been almost two decades since they opened Learning For Life.
In an interview with the Herald Sun, Mary revealed their motivation behind starting the not-for-profit organisation was to give families and children a chance to live as normal lives as possible.
The duo knew a family who had a child who was going through one of these Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention programs, and Mary wanted to do something to help.
“As a couple we got to thinking of ways we could help families who couldn’t afford these programs,” Mary told the publication.
“It started very small, but we organised a ball, then a trivia night and it just grew from there.”
With the couple having their hands full with work, they make sure to prioritise their relationship and family, by spending time together taking on new activities like golf.
“We are definitely both beginners but we do love the idea of being able to spend that time together,” Tom said at the time.
“Even if it is arguing over keeping your head down or not,” he added.
“We’ve carved out a little time in the week for ourselves,” Mary said.
The couple have also successfully brought up two children of their own, who often help with their organisation’s efforts.
A few years ago, Mary shared a photo to Facebook of her, Tom and their daughter as they geared up for a charity run to raise money.
“One week to go for Run Melbourne 2017! Help us make a difference to help kids with Autism reach their personal best!” Mary captioned the post.
