Fundraiser a triumph

A FUNDRAISING event for a local recreation reserve held over the weekend has been a major success, with the Reserve’s committee now considering future events.

The Mount Egerton Recreation Reserve (MERR) played host to a car boot sale on Saturday, with more than 100 people turning out to score some bargains, and help fund a revival of the reserve.

Prior to the weekend, committee members said $1,000 would be a fantastic amount to raise, but hundreds more ended up being raised from the $20 fee to run a stall, and proceeds kindly donated by some stall holders.

“We had 39 stalls on the day, and after the costs of the jumping castle hire and a few other things, we raised a total of $1,455,” MERR Secretary Nina Roxburgh said.

“A lot of these events account for the in-kind labour hours that we as a committee put in to run them, which can be one-for-one matched with grants that we received…so the success of the event comes down to more than just that dollar figure that was raised.

“The coffee van, barbeque, and jumping castle were a hit. There was lots of positive feedback, and I saw plenty of people doing two or three trips back to their car to put away goodies they’d bought from the stalls, which was fantastic.”

Many people have already asked Ms Roxburgh and the committee when the next car boot sale will be, and she said there will definitely be another in the future.

“We’re currently having a think about whether we try and do another one this year. There was talk about potentially doing one in November, before Christmas and when the weather’s a bit nicer,” she said.

“It’s definitely on the cards to do more car boot sales like this. It’s a great opportunity to get the neighbourhood together, and have more people visit our town and Moorabool in general.

“And of course, it’s a great opportunity to fundraise for the Recreation Reserve, so for sure we’ll do it again.”

The next fundraising event at the Mount Egerton Recreation Reserve will be a movie and bonfire night, scheduled for Saturday 29 June.

Entry will be free, but items such as popcorn will be sold with proceeds going to the Recreation Reserve.

For more information, visit the ‘Mount Egerton Recreation Reserve – MERR’ Facebook page.