MORE than $700 of proceeds from the Rotary Club of Loxton’s annual breakfast fundraiser has been officially donated to the McGrath Foundation on behalf of the organisation and the community.
The Rotary Club of Loxton held its sixth International Women’s Day breakfast at the Loxton Hotel earlier this year, where it managed to raise $752 from a portion of the breakfast costs and raffle takings, in addition to a contribution from the club, to go towards a charity of the guest speaker’s choice.
“It is a way of acknowledging the time that our guest speaker gave to the community and to women because our guest speakers do it voluntarily,” said Kathy Schliebs, Rotary Club of Loxton community service director.
“We felt it was important for them to have some say on where the fundraising went to as a result of the breakfast.”
This year, guest speaker Helen Badran from the Riverland Lymphoedema Clinic in Berri nominated the proceeds to go towards the McGrath Foundation – an organisation Ms Schliebs said could really benefit from the extra funding at this time.
“What organisation wouldn’t benefit from extra funding at the moment?” she said.
“COVID-19 has probably raised our awareness a bit more, but regardless of that, money donated to these organisations is always very valuable.
“In the current climate, where people’s donations have not always gone to where one expects, it’s worth celebrating what we as an organising committee feel is a really positive outcome, and to reinforce to those of you who attended the breakfast that through Rotary, your money has been directed to where it can make the most difference.”
Ms Schliebs hoped the community would take the opportunity to join next year’s breakfast fundraiser and show their support for other important and/or local causes.
“We wouldn’t have that money to donate to those organisations if we didn’t have people attend the breakfast,” she said.
“People enjoy a morning fellowship with like-minded women and the bonus of that is the money that then gets donated to a charity.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s a win-win situation.”