Golfing for a good cause

LOCAL businesses teed off for a good cause last Friday at the Belvoir Golf Club, raising much needed funds for Bendigo Foodshare.

The friendly competition was organised by Bendigo Toyota as a way for 23 teams, 18 of them from within the region, to raise over $16,000.

Dealer principal at Bendigo Toyota, Adam Ski, said the inaugural event built on an existing partnership that was important to the company.

“We’ve partnered with Bendigo Foodshare for about five or six years, but this is the first golf event,” he said.

“We know that Foodshare feed about 12,000 people a week in really tough times.

“When you know families are not putting food on the table for their kids just to be able to make ends meet week to week, it’s important.”

Bendigo Foodshare manager Bridget Bentley said the fundraising event was particularly helpful in the lead up to Christmas as the need for food relief was expected to surge in central Victoria.

“To have an event that’s run and organised by somebody else, as a not-for-profit we’re very resource stretched, it’s just been absolutely incredible,” she said.

“Our agencies are saying that they’re expecting a busier than normal Christmas. Many of them as a result are trying to stay open that bit longer which is difficult because everybody in this space has been working exceptionally hard over the last two years.

“We’re certainly trying to get as much food out there at the moment so that people are well stocked to get themselves through this Christmas period.

“We are supporting the community with a mobile Christmas food pantry that will operate for three days just after the new year to help get extra food out to people who need it.”