Easter gift delivered

By Lachlan Ellis

A Moorabool hospital has received not Easter eggs, but a donation of over $5,000, from a volunteer-run festival this year.

The Bacchus Marsh EasterFest raised a whopping $5,555.77 this year, with a cheque for that amount presented to the Bacchus Marsh Hospital’s Urgent Care Department last month.

The tally for this year’s event tips the total donation tally for the Bacchus Marsh EasterFest over $50,000 – the event was first run in 2015, and has since then provided a total of $51,769.26 to the Bacchus Marsh Hospital.

While a last-minute change of location was required due to inclement weather and risk of damaging Maddingley Park, and the Easter egg hunts were unable to be held this year, a fantastic event was still run. In fact, patrons enjoyed the biggest egg haul to date, with everyone who bought Easter egg hunts receiving double the normal amount: over a kilo of eggs.

The market, and activities such as the animal farm, face painting, crafts, Easter bonnet parade, and performances were all still able to be held despite the dreary conditions.

Divisional Director Emergency, Medicine and Access at Western Health, Patriece Shelly, thanked the EasterFest volunteers for their ongoing support of the Bacchus Marsh Hospital.

“On behalf of Western Health, I would like to express my gratitude to the Bacchus Marsh EasterFest volunteers and community sponsors. This generous donation enabled the purchase of a defibrillator for our urgent care centre, supporting our staff to provide best care for the Bacchus Marsh community at a time when they need it most,” Ms Shelly told the Moorabool News.

“We at Western Health are very thankful for these amazing fundraising efforts and for the continued support each and every year at EasterFest.”

For more information on the Bacchus Marsh EasterFest, visit www.bacchusmarsheasterfest.org.