Tea Gardens Hotel donates to local charities

MUCH-NEEDED funds raised through Tea Gardens Hotel raffles have been donated to two local charities.

The presentation of funds was made on Wednesday, 5 November.

Representatives from charitable organisations Wildlife in Need of Care (WINC) and Can Assist graciously accepted their donations, and took the opportunity to inform the community of their important work.

“Volunteers at WINC work with wildlife in the Port Stephens, Dungog and Great Lakes areas,” explained WINC’s Nina Morris.

“We rescue all wildlife, rehabilitate them and release them back into the wild where they belong.

“We give our heartfelt gratitude for the generous donation from Tea Gardens Hotel’s raffles, your support plays a vital role in helping us rescue, rehabilitate, and protect vulnerable wildlife in our community.”

This year WINC has rescued and rehabilitated almost 40 redneck and swamp wallabies, eastern grey kangaroos, pademelons, wallaroos, several kangaroos and wallabies – including many young animals whose mothers have died from vehicle strike.

Varying in age, the youngest are still pink with no fur, requiring intensive around-the-clock care, taking up to a costly 18 months to fully rehabilitate.

WINC is home to a group of highly dedicated and knowledgeable volunteers, but can always do with more support, particularly due to the recent loss of highly-valued team member Lisa Anne Muir.

Can Assist (Cancer Patients Assistance Society of NSW) is a grass roots, not-for-profit organisation operating in dozens of towns across country NSW.

It helps get cancer patients from regional and rural remote NSW to their treatments, and has been doing so since 1955.

“We have been slowly growing over the years,” said Magellan Gallagher from Can Assist.

“Each year we are helping 4500 to 5000 patients get to treatment.

“Distance creates additional hardship when you get diagnosed with cancer, so we try to help with the financial side of things.”

Can Assist has 57 branches across NSW, with the closest in Taree.

“Each of those [branches] is totally done by over 3000 volunteers across the state, who raise money in their local communities and deliver it to their local cancer patients,” Magellan said.

“We call it ‘locals helping locals’.

“Forty percent of costs are travel and accommodation, but it’s not just petrol and hotels, but also making sure cars are roadworthy because 90 percent use their cars to get to treatment.

“Another 45 percent goes into medical expenses, half of which is pharmaceuticals, which add up hugely over a cancer diagnosis, as well as scans.”

Magellan highlighted the fact that there are hardly any public positron emission tomography (PET) scan units in country NSW, and the scans themselves can cost $1000.

By Thomas O’KEEFE