Love Your Sister Ball has heart

BALLARAT not-for-profit Twin Hearts will host their second Love Your Sister Red Carpet Gala Ball on Saturday, 9 October.

A large portion of the ticket sales, and all funds raised on the evening, will be donated to breast cancer charity Love Your Sister, headed by Samuel Johnson OAM.

Twin Hearts founder and president Kelly-Louise Austin said the formal event will be held at the Ballarat & District Trotting Club from 7pm, with red carpet and photographer, live entertainment from band Mad Cow and D’vinyl Retro DJ, raffles and auctions.

“We raised $10,000 in 2019, so we’re hoping to smash that and raise a heap more this year,” she said.

“We’ll also keep back a portion to go towards our Tanzania project. We’re in the groundworks of a school bus project.”

Mr Johnson attended the event in 2019, but is unable to be part of this year’s fundraiser. He is currently in recovery, having been hit by a car in June.

“Samuel hasn’t been able to get out on the road to raise money or awareness for the cause in recent months, and we couldn’t do anything last year.

“We’re eager to raise as much as possible and are excited at this point to move forward with the Gala,” Ms Austin said.

Born and bred in Ballarat, Ms Austin established Twin Hearts to give back to the community and beyond.

“For each local cause or charity that we raise funds for, we also match with a sister charity in Tanzania to donate a portion of the raised funds.

“I have spent time working and living in Kenya and Tanzania, and I am extremely passionate about helping to break the poverty cycle for women and children around the world. Twin Hearts is my way of doing so,” Ms Austin said.

Visit bit.ly/3iwhUKh for tickets which are $125 per person over 18 years, or $1250 for a table of 10.

That price includes a glass of sparkling wine on arrival, finger food, and a four-hour drinks package.

Twin Hearts hopes for more sponsors and prize donors to jump on board. They’re also looking for outdoor locations to install promotional gala signs, donated by a local real estate agency.

This week, the organisation is helping vulnerable community members access groceries through funds raised at a trivia day earlier in 2021.

They are also rescheduling a postponed Christmas in July event which was set to generate money for Cops N Kids, and for a small Zanzibar orphanage and school in need of books.

Contact Ms Austin at [email protected] or 0416 393 693.