THE HOSPICE effort has blasted past its initial $100,000 goal thanks to an almost $26,000 donation with the funds raised by a record-breaking battery drive.
Almost 60 tonnes of batteries have been collected by “gold old boys” Peter Elford, Bill Wardle and Peter Jager, along with Koraleigh’s Brian Hoare who pitched in with 10 tonnes himself.
The gargantuan collection saw the men cart 20 loads of battery waste, weighing in at 58.8 tonnes, from 132 different property-owners in the northern part of the Swan Hill district over to BT Recycling in Murray Downs.
The battery waste collectors handed over the resulting proceeds from BT Recycling, $25,883, to the Swan Hill Hopsice Committee on Wednesday, sending its funds up to $122,984 — almost $23,000 over its first stage target.
It was a record battery haul at BT Recycling, an effort befitting the battery drive’s legacy as the contribution that pushed the hospice committee over its first financial hurdle, which it set out to achieve last November.
The committee’s secretary, Loretta Belton, said the Swan Hill community had “blown away” all her expectations since she first opened up the committee’s bank account in early December 2014.
“It’s just been a surreal effort, I didn’t think that we’d get to it even in 12 months,” Ms Belton said.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Friday’s Guardian (August 14).
