A PACKED Balranald Ex-Services Club was home to the town’s Good Friday Appeal last Friday, showing support for The Royal Melbourne Children’s Hospital.
More than $7000 had been raised by the Balranald community and BESC general manager Jacquii Richardson was in awe of the generosity and Friday night crowd.
“We haven’t got the final count as we’re still waiting for the collection from the goat races,” she said.
“As of Sunday we raised $7100, but by the time that money comes in, we should make more than last year’s total of $7400.
“We’re ecstatic. It’s an absolutely fantastic amount.
“We had a brilliant turnout on Friday – there were no chairs left, our whole place was packed.
“The whole evening was full-on, in a good way.”
Ms Richardson said it had become one of the great annual events in Balranald.
“We’ve had a lot of our local kids who at various stages have needed to be flown down to the Royal Children’s, so it means a great deal to us as a community,” she said.
“The number of things that were donated by individuals who aren’t wealthy and might be struggling themselves was tremendous.
“We’ve been doing this a long time, starting off with the barrel boys years ago before we took over, so it’s a long-standing tradition and we’re just happy we can help out.”
As usual, the club’s raffle on Friday afternoon proved to be a great success, with locals and out-of-towners alike enjoying the day of giving.
“We had some amazing prizes that random people and local businesses donated,” Ms Richardson said.
“The most pleasing thing, though, was seeing people give the stuff they won back.
“We had a few strangers in the room as well, which was great to see, and they loved the atmosphere and evening.”
