Fast-forward a few months and thanks to the hard work of Will and his team; the generosity of local communities; and some help from Benalla Toyota he now only needs to find another $21,000.
The dealership has made a suitable vehicle available for Will to purchase for around $67,000, more than $5000 less than other prices quoted.
Will's father, Peter Martin, said Will and his whole fundraising team was excited with the news and full of praise for Benalla Toyota sales manager Glenn Shaw and the team at Benalla Toyota.
"We can't thank them enough, it has really helped keep the momentum going and brings the van that much closer," Mr Martin said.
The news came just in time to help Will celebrate his birthday, which is on Sunday, February 6 at Wangaratta’s Vine Hotel.
A newly fitted out van like Will's would normally take seven months to be delivered but Glenn “called in a few favours” and now delivery could be by early April.
"It's been such an overwhelming response by so many people to help get Will mobile again,“ Mr Martin said.
“... We thank Benalla Toyota, Uniting Church Op Shop, the Vine Hotel, all the sponsors of Will & Friends Assorted Recipe Book, all the donors to the raffle, as well as all the businesses and individuals that have made cash donations on (his) GoFundMe page.
"Just a big thank you to everyone for their support and generosity.“
Mr Shaw said Mr Martin contacted them around December to get an idea how much a suitable van would cost.
“We put a quote together and fortunately everything has fallen into place,” Mr Shaw said.
“We are able to get a van, in the latest specifications, and price it really aggressively to try and make it as easy as possible for Will.
“Supporting our local community is everything to us. We’re a small dealer, in a small town where community is everything.”
Will currently has two cook books for sale which can be purchased via www.moorefoods.com.au
All profits go towards his fundraiser.
Monique Gibson, founder of Ardour Wellness, said sales were going well and Will planned to release a second recipe book at the end of the year.
“When we started to make the second book we realised it was massive,” Ms Gibson said.
“So we decided to split it in to parts. We are hoping people jump on the website and get a copy.”
Will said he was looking forward to finishing his next cook book.
“It’s full of really easy, delicious recipes,” Will said.
“My favourite is the apple pie.”
If you would like to donate to Will’s fundraiser you can do that via GoFundMe by visiting www.moorefoods.com.au clicking ‘fundraiser’ and then ‘donate’.
Article produced in collaboration with the Wangaratta Chronicle.
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