Brunch Raises $4000 for Refuge
Brunch Raises $4000 for Refuge
September 25, 2017 at 2:27 PM
Women helping women.
With thanks to student reporter, Year 12 Chelsea Simmons
Yesterday, a group of senior girls organised a Mother-Daughter Fundraising brunch, with all the proceeds going towards Women’s Refuge.
The idea for the brunch came after one of the Senior Girls’ Talks at assembly. The talks are based around inspiring the girls, while motivating them to set goals and strive to achieve success.
Occasionally these talks focus on the ways that we can help out in our community, with one in particular striking a chord. After seeing a video about less fortunate women dealing without monthly sanitary products, a group of us discussed ways in which we could help to provide access to these necessary products for those who go without.
The idea of holding a Mother and Daughter Brunch was born. We really liked the idea because it allowed us to celebrate the bond between a mother and daughter, while also giving us an opportunity to raise funds and awareness for Women’s Refuge, which helps so many women in our community.
After receiving approval to proceed, the team had just one month to organise the event - it was all hands on deck! Chelsea Simmons, Bella Conynham, Bella Thornton, Julia Hart, Emma Hitchcock, Laura Porter and Olivia Eskrigge got to work, firstly approaching many and varied companies for sponsorship. In particular we are grateful to Oi company, who came on board to allow us to donate a wide variety of sanitary items, as well as the proceeds from the brunch, to the Women’s Refuge.
Sunday morning saw an early start for the team of girls and mums, preparing food and finalising decorations before the doors to the Goodfellow Centre opened at 10am. Well over 80 guests arrived and at this hour the coffee machine was running hot - a special thanks to Year 12 barista, Lewis Elliot, who fuelled up the conversations with his wonderful coffees!
Our thanks to Mrs Karen Olsen who took on the role of MC, welcoming the guests and introducing Head Girl, Izzy Denholm, who gave thanks to all mothers before saying grace.
Brunch was served by a group of willing young men from Bruce House and we thank them for coming on board for the cause.
The first guest speaker is a New Zealand icon - fashion designer, Karen Walker. Karen has forged her way internationally with her unique, counter-cultural range of fashion. Her mantra to ‘challenge the market before the market challenges you’ has played a huge part in her success. She inspired the girls as they approach that time when they are making decisions about future pathways. She told them that no amount of talent will help, unless you have the drive and are brave enough to take a risk. We thank Karen for her wonderful donation to our cause, and for the gift for our guests.
Our second guest speaker, Mrs Heather Walton gave a very personal and meaningful account about her pathway to finding happiness and success. Her strong messages gave everyone something to think about, as she made the point that life isn’t always easy. She told the girls to ‘live their lives with intention not chance,’ encouraging them to goal-set daily. A big thank you to Heather for also leading our live auction, finishing the brunch with plenty of excitement and adding further donations to our fundraising total.
The girls did a fantastic job and certainly learned a huge amount about the logistics of organising such an event. They are looking forward to the chance to repeat this again next year with a greater understanding of the organisation required.
Our grateful thanks to our sponsors and to the mothers who came along in support. We raised close to $4000 for Woman’s’ Refugee – this totally exceeded our expectations!
A huge thank you to the following sponsors for their generosity:
Pantone, New World Eastridge, Raglan Coconut Yogurt, Sanitarium, Green Valley Milk, Wright Sprouts, Bonnie Good, Alamir Bakery, The Lovely Little Food Co, Eves Pantry, Bagel Love, The Damson Collection, Regal Salmon, Fix and Fogg, and Frucor Suntory.
