Dalek drops in for Lifeline

ANYONE who bought a pizza from one of the four Domino’s stores in Bendigo one day late last month were contributing to Lifeline’s Hello for Hope campaign.

On Friday 20 September, Domino’s Bendigo franchisees Jason and Lindsay Tod put aside $1 from every pizza sold throughout the day for donation to the campaign as part of their latest Dough-Raiser.

With an intergalactic theme, the day raised a total of $1707 for Hello for Hope, a month-long series of events to support and celebrate Lifeline Loddon Mallee’s work in crisis support and mental health training.

The Dough-Raiser was held at the Tods’ Bendigo CBD, Strathdale, Kangaroo Flat and Epsom stores.

The Tods won the Community Minded Award at the recent Bendigo Business Excellence Awards. They hold regular Dough-Raiser events at their outlets, and donate pizzas through Domino’s Feed the Knead programs. They also run Pizza School during school holidays.

“This event was such a good cause that even Doctor Who’s enemies came to help out,” Mrs Tod said, explaining that Green Jean the Dalek had taken up residence at the CBD store for the day.

“Lifeline does such incredible work in the Bendigo region,” Mrs Tod said. “Knowing you were supporting your community just by ordering a pizza, makes them taste all the better.”

Lifeline Loddon Mallee community officer John Richards said the organisation is volunteer-led and a not-for-profit charity.

“We were thrilled that Domino’s chose to help us raise money and awareness for Hello for Hope,” he said.

He said its Bendigo services include a crisis support and suicide prevention hotline, mental health first aid, domestic violence awareness and suicide prevention training.

Lifeline Loddon Mallee has answered more than 22,000 calls this year. The organisation says it costs $39 to answer each call and $3500 to train each of its volunteer crisis supporters.

Every Lifeline centre has to raise 75 per cent of its own funds.