THE Tooleybuc community has contributed $2500 to the effort to bring a hospice to Swan Hill, in memory of two locals who passed away.
Peter Hoare and Peter Hayward, both Tooleybuc born-and-raised, spent their last weeks in a Bendigo hospice as it was the closest one to the Swan Hill area.
Now, their families are leading a fundraising push to bring a hospice to Swan Hill, so locals won’t need to travel far to spend time with their loved ones during their final days.
Mr Hoare’s sisters, Loretta Belton and Janine Gebert, and Mr Hayward’s wife, Gaynor Hayward, have raised $22,500 since launching the campaign through The Guardian in November, almost a quarter of the way to their goal of raising $100,000.
Of that amount, $2537 was raised by old friends and fellow community members of Mr Hoare and Mr Hawyward in Tooleybuc over the past week.
It all began when Mrs Gebert attended an emotional school reunion for Mr Hoare’s classmates and peers at Tooleybuc Central School at Tooleybuc Hotel on Saturday, raising $670 from raffle tickets and donations.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Monday’s Guardian (March 23).
