Christmas Ball raises $42,000!
Billed as the city‘s glam-slam night of the year, the Friday night fundraiser smashed it’s $26,000 target. By the time the clock struck 12 $16,000 more than expected had been raised.
Event organiser, SWH Community Partnerships Manager Suzan Morey, couldn’t be happier with the end result. ‘The first thing we did Monday morning was order the $26,000 Dermatome Machine. This is such good news for people living here. We are over the moon with the fact we now have the money to buy this incredibly expensive piece of skin-grafting equipment and still can’t believe we’ve got an extra $16,000 to buy other otherwise-unaffordable medical equipment.
‘The past financial year has been pretty tough on most charities, us included. But the generosity of everyone involved with the Christmas Ball – donors, sponsors and guests – will really help us to catch up.’
The night kicked off with an $8,000 donation from the BHP Billiton Minerva Gas Plant. The silent auction and raffle were roaring successes as was the live auction headed up by a very entertaining Anthony Mahony and his assistant Percy Eccles.
Then some very special visitors popped into the event, bearing sizeable donations:
- Spotlight Warrnambool’s Sheree Kenny called in with $1,575
- Pauline Burleigh and Judi Doherty with $5,520.10
- The Fireflyers Murray to Moyne Cycle Relay Team with $1,100
- The Breast Cancer Support Group’s Phyllis McLeish with $4,241.27
Additional to the two live auction items major sponsor and guest, Jeremy Rae of The Good Guys’ fame donated on the night, he also presented a $5,000 cheque. (For the full list of sponsors please go to the end of this story.)
South West Healthcare has been wanting to buy a Dermatome Machine for a very long time. Had one been onsite last year it would have been used 21 times.
‘Skin cancer surgery usually requires a graft which our surgeons have to harvest by hand,’ explains Suzan. ‘This is time consuming because it’s vital that an even thickness of skin be taken. The Dermatome Machine acts like an electric wood-plane to shave a precise even-spread of skin. Then, seconds later, by making hundreds of tiny pinpricks, it expands this skin so that less needs to be taken in the first place – two square inches can be turned into three.’
This time last year South West Healthcare rapt up a $40,000 public appeal to buy a TOE Probe to start a region-first screening service for valvular heart disease and causes of stroke. This service is saving more than 70 people a year from having to go to Geelong or Melbourne. Meantime the $38,000 Cardiac Assessment System paid for by a public appeal had already been used 170 times by June this year. Twenty-four of those 170 were found to need – and have since had – lifesaving stents or bypass surgery.
It doesn’t get better than that.
thumbnail Looking gorgeous! Rachel Howard, Katrina Perroud, Caroline Herbert, Andrea Occipinti and SWH Warrnambool Ladies Auxiliary co-president Margot Johnson.
photo 1 Medically-speaking, guests at the Ball were in very safe hands. From left: anaesthetist Craig Humphries, obstetrician Vicki Woodward, Angus Grant, paediatric registrar Michelle Telfer, obstetrician Anthony Woodward, Jen Heislers, physician Mark Page and Alex Page.
photo 2 The Ball raised $16,000 more than Community Partnerships Manager Suzan Morey (right) dreamed possible thanks to some very generous donations from (from left) Pauline Burleigh and Judi Doherty, Mick Corbett representing the Fireflyers Murray to Moyne Cycle Relay Team and the Warrnambool and District Breast Cancer Support Group's Phyllis McLeish. Spotlight's Sheree Kenny also turned up with a $1,575 donation while Jeremy Rae The Good Guys and BHP Billiton Minerva Gas Plant donated $5,000 and $8,000 respectively.
photo 3 Major sponsor Jeremy Rae from Jeremy Rae The Good Guys with Cameron Gull, Rory Mansell and Tim Robertson. On top of his cash donation, Jeremy donated a 42” LCD TV and four tickets to a box at the 2010 Australian Open which made $2,200 at the auction. The other major sponsor of the evening was ACE Radio 3YB and COAST FM 95.3.
OUR GENEROUS CHRISTMAS BALL MAJOR SPONSORS: ACE Radio and Jeremy Rae the Good Guys
OUR GENEROUS CHRISTMAS BALL SPONSORS: Alltrade Australia, AMP Capital–Gateway Plaza, Andrew McManus Presents, Armadio of Warrnambool, Australia Post–Warrnambool, Boolistic, Tom Clancey, Deepwater Baths & Spa, Knelly Design, Kodak Express/Owens Camera Centre, Lincoln Electric, Mantra 100 Exhibition–Melbourne, May Park Executive Apartments–Horsham, Mirvac Hotels & Resorts, National Australia Bank–Warrnambool, Northpoint Liquor Barn, Ponting Brothers Relax & Entertain, Roe Motorcycles, Sebel Deep Blue, Seiko, Snooze Sleepwell, Soulsby & Struth, Kay Stafford, The Standard, Timor Street Newsagency, Tir Na Nog Skin & Body Therapy, Triton Woodworkers Club, Victoria Hotel–Warrnambool, Warrnambool City Council, Warrnambool Picture Framing & Gallery, Warrnambool Racing Club, Warrnambool Veterinary Clinic and Yamaha.
OUR TERRIFIC CHRISTMAS BALL VOLUNTEERS: A very special thank you to a ‘Frequent Flyer’ patient of ours, Steven Morgan, who secured many of the items for the Live and Silent Auctions, Deb Emmerson who helped set up on the day and helped run the event on the night, and auctioneer Anthony Mahony and his assistant Percy Eccles.