Community spirit bowls over SES with donations

THE Torquay SES Unit is $12,000 closer to the replacement of one of its vehicles, after another successful Billy Ryan Bowls Charity Day helped raise the much-needed funds.

The charity day, organised by the Torquay Lions Club and held last Friday at the Torquay Bowls Club, raised $12,000 for the Torquay SES Unit, with local businesses and organisations jumping to support the fundraiser with donations spanning cash, vouchers and prizes for the event’s raffle and silent auction.

The event’s major sponsor Champion Blinds donated $1,500, while McCartney Real Estate and Roy Morris Lawyers each donated $1,000.

The Torquay Bowls Club also dug deep, donating more than $500 to support the SES unit, a figure raised over the past 12 months through the fines received from barefoot bowlers who used the “wrong bias”.

Torquay SES Unit controller Graham Pocklington said the funds raised from the event will be put towards the replacement of one of the unit’s trucks.

 

A new, fully fitted vehicle will cost the volunteer organisation $270,000, with the government funding available leaving a shortfall of $90,000 to be raised by the unit.

“A special thanks to the Torquay Lions Club, their sponsors and donors, and to the Torquay Bowls Club for putting on a fantastic day,” Mr Pocklington said.

“We are extremely grateful for the support we receive from businesses and organisations within our community to allow us to do what we do.”

Torquay Lions Club vice-president Ross Yapp said the club knew the money would be put to good use by the SES, whose members generously give up their time to help others in an emergency.

“The whole club was behind the annual Billy Ryan Bowls Charity Day,” he said, thanking all who attended and supported this year’s event.

“Our members called on some 200 local Torquay traders, asking for any support they could provide, such as gifts, vouchers or cash.”

The annual event, named for a much-loved Lions Club member and avid bowler who passed in July 2022, was established in 2016 and has since helped raised more than $70,000 for the local community.