It has taken a few donations, games of bingo and raffle tickets but the Forbes Sunshine Club has once again made a significant contribution to Royal Far West, raising $55,000 for country children in 2015.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Forbes Sunshine Club has been running for 77 years now, each year making a generous donation (usually more than $50,000) to Royal Far West which goes towards providing access to specialist healthcare for country kids living in remote areas.
Sunshine Club president Molly Neilsen said $55,000 was “excellent”.
“It’s around about what we normally [donate],” she said.
“Sometimes it’s a bit more than others.
“We only do it through the shop, raffles and regular bingos - that’s the only fundraising we do.”
Donations to the Royal Far West are used to give children west of the Blue Mountains specialist treatment for issues such as learning and behavioural problems and speech and communication problems.
Royal Far West are also partners with Ronald McDonald House Charities and are responsible for providing the medical services for the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, including management of the day-to-day operational logistics of the van.
Mrs Neilsen said the money they raise for Royal Far West is mostly through the opportunity shop, which wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of the Forbes community.
“We wouldn’t be able to do the work that we do without donations from the public, whether it’s clothing, furniture or cash donations,” she said.
With just under 20 volunteers, the Sunshine Club does a great job continuing to raise money to help kids in need, however Mrs Neilsen said it is disappointing when some people treat the op-shop like the “nearest garbage disposal”.
“We get a bit disheartened sometimes because people leave boxes at the door,” she said.
“But we can’t do much about that ... on the whole we grin and bear it - we need donations and we like clean donations.
“Some of our people are very good with what they give us.”
Donations of clothing, furniture, books or bric-a-brac to the Sunshine Club are much appreciated, however the op-shop does not take electrical goods or poor quality items.
Donations can be left at the op-shop during business hours from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 9am until 12noon Saturdays or a pick-up service can be arranged.
