Palm Lakes residents host massive fundraiser for Cancer Council

A MASSIVE Morning Tea was held at the Palm Lake Resort Promenade on Saturday 30 May in support of Cancer Council NSW (CCNSW).

The event, which was organised by the Palm Lake Resort (PLR) social committee as a Biggest Morning Tea, was attended by almost 200 people.

The morning kicked off with sunshine and the acoustic stylings of the Old Bones Garage Band.

“For over a decade Palm Lake Resort has raised funds for the Cancer Council’s Biggest Morning Tea, and this year was the biggest ever with close to 200 participants,” PLR social committee secretary Ann Gallagher said.

“A visitor from the Cancer Council, Sue Russell, judged the best-dressed table, and was delighted to receive the news that at the end of the morning we raised over $10,500 – with more donations coming through – more than double last year’s event.

“This was achieved through the generosity of residents who baked delicious cakes for sale, donated gifts for the raffle and auction, and local businesses who supported the event by donating their products or vouchers.”

The entertainment acts were interspersed with tense raffle rounds, each one handing out hundreds of dollars’ worth of locally donated prizes.

The silent auction evolved into a rather lively hot auction, supported by some impromptu prize modelling that raised the donations considerably.

Local celebrity Maggie Nadal emceed the event and introduced the other acts by PLR-based choir Villa Voce, and the surprise finale from Blabba, a local tribute group to Abba.

This version of the Biggest Morning Tea began years ago as a Villa Voce-led event, and the choir reprised its role serenading the room underneath the chandelier near the grand piano.

Two of the choir’s members were unable to join due to health issues and the song, You’ve Got A Friend In Me, was dedicated to them. This was followed by a medley of Beach Boys favourites including Kokomo, Get Around, and In My Room.

The final act was Blabba, a local lip-synched tribute to Abba, complete with jumpsuits and ‘light touch’ keyboard and guitar work.

Sue Russell, from Cancer Council NSW (CCNSW), spoke about where the donations go and noted that statistics showed practically everyone in the room had already been touched directly or indirectly by cancer.

“Cancer Council NSW is 95 per cent community funded, partly because when governments change so too can funding, and we rely heavily on the good work done at Biggest Morning Teas like this one,” Ms Russell said.

“The funds go towards world-class research to improve treatments and quality of life thereafter, with $17million invested in research, as well as practical support, such as treatment transport with volunteer drivers in NSW, who in 2025 covered over one million kilometres.

“The funds also help run the Support Line (13 11 20), which received 10,000 calls in 2025, and CCNSW’s prevention and advocacy work, such as the eradication of smoking from most venues, buses and planes, and installation of outdoor playground outdoor covers.

“CCNSW has also been lobbying for better screening, such as the mail-in bowel cancer kits which, according to the statistics, are 99 per cent effective but are only used by 45 per cent of people who get them in the mail, and by women far more than men.”

By Thomas O’KEEFE