A very Good Friday indeed: Vaughan Thomas, Ray Liddicoat, Diane Main and Eunice Cartner during Rochester’s Good Friday appeal at the Mackay St CFA station on Friday.
Fire brigades in Victoria have contributed more than $1.5 million to a record breaking Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.
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Rochester CFA was again home base to the appeal this year and raised $4138.05, which was included in an overall town total of $6253 (a figure including online and phone call donations).
Across the state CFA volunteers raised a remarkable $1,606,287. That was among a record breaking overall 2023 tally of $23,061,320.
Rochester volunteers chose not to conduct a door knock this year because of the amount of displaced residents in the town and the difficult nature of the past six months in the community.
They did, however, descend on the visitors to the town — a crowded riverside free camping area at Ayson’s Reserve responding well to the appeal, along with guests at the town’s two caravan parks.
Heidi Warren, Rochester area appeal co-ordinator, worked with her team from the Mackay St station after she and her volunteers were given a head start to the appeal before the rain dampened the spirits of market-goers on Thursday evening.
She said the response to the tin rattle at the Rochester Business Network’s Easter market had been positive before the rain started at about 6pm.
"We had about $700 in donations and the raffle from Thursday night. Then we had people calling in at the station from 8am on Friday,“ she said.
The CFA has been a major fundraiser of the Good Friday Appeal for the past 72 years, having raised more than $37 million for the RCH since 1951.
Marg McCarty was typical of the donors that made their way to the brigade, arriving at the fire station with a large bag of coins — the result of two years of “spare change’’ savings.
Mrs McCarty, who is staying with her son and daughter-in-law while her home is being plastered, was among many people who made the effort to deliver the contribution in person to the brigade volunteers.
Echuca-Moama’s $100,025 total was marginally better than the Bendigo tally of $92,877, with Ballarat the state’s leading regional contributor with $199,173.
Devenish and Dookie, which conduct a major event each year to support appeal, again dwarfed the tallies of several much larger towns. They combined to raise $120,248.
In the past seven years the Devenish, Dookie and Districts Good Friday Appeal has gone from raising $22,711 in 2017 to more than $100,000 in 2022 and then $120,248.
Its total from the seven-year period is $511,477.24. Every year farmers from the region raise sheep and steers for sale, in aide of the RCH Appeal.
It was second only to Ballarat on the regional tally board and ahead of both Geelong and Wodonga.
Kyabram raised $31,671 and the tiny riverside community of Nathalia raised $19,139.
In what has become an annual Easter tradition in Victoria, more than $421 million has been raised in donations to deliver the best possible care to patients and their families since the appeal began in 1931.
Heidi Warren (right) with volunteers Heather Matthes and Phyllis Long.
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