Fun night: Corinne Baldock and Kim Boland were all smiles as they enjoyed their time at the CLRS annual fundraising dinner last Thursday. Photos: Supplied
A local organisation has raised almost $80,000 to help alleviate the issue of accessible housing in the region.
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Community Living and Respite Services held its 16th annual fundraising dinner last Thursday, and raised $79,938 through ticket sales, auctions and raffle tickets.
Charity evening: Fran Galvin OAM and Elaine Hamilton were among the guests at the dinner.
The money raised will go towards Opening Doors, a project that builds and rents affordable, accessible housing.
Chief executive Leah Taaffe said the night was a huge success.
“The feedback we’ve had from everybody who attended has been that they had an excellent night. Janine Shepherd, who was our guest speaker, really made an impact on everyone who was in the room,” she said.
Great night: CLRS vice president Dr Claire Goodman was joined by guest speaker Janine Shepherd and CLRS chief executive Leah Taaffe.
“You could hear a pin drop when she was speaking and talking about what her experience had been and her mindset and how you approached the things that come your way in life.”
Ms Taaffe said a lot of hard work ensures the event happens yearly.
“Every year, we start six months out, and our fundraising committee do a huge amount of legwork, going and talking to the multitude of businesses, organisations, and individuals that support us to make it happen,” she said.
Going, going gone: Gary Wood was the auctioneer at the fundraising dinner.
The event was made possible by volunteer work and the support that CLRS got from the local community, with 109 different businesses contributing towards sponsorship, vouchers or items, and 250 people attending the event.
“Our event sponsor is Moama Bowling Club, and they give us a huge amount of support in establishing the event and making sure that it’s successful every year,” Ms Taaffe said.
Behind the mic: CLRS life member Dave Callanan was the MC.
“Then we have 12 major sponsors who provide us with cash to support the event happening and donations of major items for us to have in our auction.
“We get a huge amount of support, but you’ve got to get out and talk to all those businesses, and you’ve got to go out and enable them to understand what they’re supporting. Our fundraising committee do all that work in the lead-up to the dinner.”
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