Darley digs deep

By Lachlan Ellis

Donations to the families affected by the Exford Primary School bus crash have lined Darley Park from one goal square to the other, with the final tally to be doubled by a local business.

The Darley Football Netball Club’s ‘You Are Note Alone’ fundraiser asked the community to chip in with $5 notes, which would be used to line the football ground from end-to-end.

And line the ground they did, even with the scattering of generous $20 and $50 notes that were donated.

The cold, wet weather didn’t stop 100+ people from heading to Darley Park at 5.30 pm last Thursday night, with rolls of notes taped together being stretched out from one end of the ground to the other and kept down by bricks.

Devils President Mark Shelly said it was a no-brainer for the club to raise some funds for the children and their families, and help take some of the pressure off them.

“I was approached by Don Calleja some days back, wanting to do something for the children involved in the bus crash. He contacted us and suggested we do something at a home game, but I said to Don, the problem we have is that we won’t have a home game for still quite some weeks, and we want to act quickly,” Mr Shelly told the Moorabool News.

“I had a discussion with Ally Edwards who’s basically coordinated this, and we came up with the concept of covering the length of the ground from one end to the other with $5 notes. The response has been unbelievable, it’s the Devils through and through.

“When the chips are down, we get in and get our hands dirty and help those that need support. We estimate that the length of the ground is around 155 metres, so the lengths of the $5 notes mean it’s taken approximately 1100 or notes to cross the ground.”

Ms Edwards said the bus accident had stunned the Darley community.

“Any accident involving children is shocking and hits people hard, particularly because this is so geographically close. Our juniors, seniors and their families have many friends that attend Exford Primary School,” she said.

“Our club wants to support the children and their families on their road to recovery. Whilst we know money isn’t everything, we want to take some of the pressure off those affected families. At times like this, it can be difficult to know how to help, and this fundraiser allows locals that have been touched by this accident to contribute.”

The goal was to raise $5,000 for the families affected by the bus crash in Eynesbury, and that total was well exceeded, with $10,120 raised on the night, though the club continued taking donations over the weekend.

The Calleja Group has pledged to match whatever total is raised.