Ladies frocked up and donned their best headwear last week, raising money for children with cancer in style.
The Cancer Crusaders, a group of Wyndham women, hosted their annual Oaks Day fundraiser at Werribee Park Golf Club on Thursday, with 150 people gathering to raise much-needed funds for research at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Crusaders secretary Ruth Murray said the committee, made up of 12 Wyndham women, had a yearly goal of raising $90,000. The funds raised are paying for a brain tumor clinical trial program at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Since the committee’s formation in 2013, about $250,000 has been raised.
Ms Murray said that before the formation of the Cancer Crusaders, just seven per cent of patients were offered any alternative treatment. Now, 25 per cent are offered a trial.
“We started attending fundraising functions but decided to branch out and start our own,” Ms Murray said.
“We might be small in regards to how many of us there are, but we’re definitely making big money.”
The Oaks Day fundraiser is just one of their annual events, with the team of women also hosting high teas, dinner dances and a Christmas market night.
“We have a lot of fun,” Ms Murray said. “We don’t expect people to empty thousands of dollars at our fundraisers, but 100 per cent of what is donated goes to a good cause.”
Royal Children’s Hospital community liaison officer Mary McGowan said that for such a small group of women, the Cancer Crusaders made a big difference.
“Of all the people I work with, these are the best and the most passionate,” she said.
The Oaks Day event raised $7000 towards the group’s overall goal of $90,000.
