|
OVER $170,000 RAISED
AT BAILEY’S DAY IN 2009
The sixth Bailey’s Day event was the best one yet with a record number of golfers and lunch guests plus some of the most generous auction donations and bidders which altogether raised a staggering $170,000 and rising!
The event took place on Tuesday December 8th 2009 at Southern Golf Club, who once again did a stellar job looking after our guests, and was hosted by media personality Geoff ‘Coxy’ Cox.
The money raised will go to Monash Medical Centre’s Children’s Cancer Centre, to continue funding clinical oncology fellowships, with the aim for some going to Brain tumour research at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI).
About 300 people attended the lunch at Southern Golf Club, after 140 brave souls had battled through the severe weather to take part in the morning’s golf tournament. Under the Canadian Foursomes format Jeff Crozier and Phil Scott took the winning spots and were both presented with their very own hand crafted miniature versions of the little blue glass Bailey bear.
The players then came in from the rain and joined the rest of the diners for a beautifully catered lunch and to bid for the many and varied items generously donated for the main and silent auctions. Auctioneer Mark Sawicki was once again in fine form, heckling with bidders to get them to dig deeper into their hearts and pockets.
Other highlights included the generosity of Herald Sun Classifieds Advertising Manager Agostino Giramondo who donated a one page ad to be auctioned off which raised $10,500. As soon as the hammer went down on the auction, Agostino threw in another three pages, all of which sold for the same amount and collectively raised $42,000 in just a few minutes!
Victorian music royalty joined us for the day in the form on the world’s tallest band, ‘The Tall’ which includes Tracey Bartram, Bobby Valentine, Wilbur Wilde, Co Tipping, Chris Wilson, Paul Gadsby and Geoff Cox who provided the fantastic entertainment for us.
The spirit of generosity was alive and well, with most items selling well above their market value in both the main auction and the silent auction.
The success of Bailey’s Day is an ongoing testament to the generosity of those who take part and a fitting tribute to the hard work of Dr Peter Downie and his clinical fellows Myooren Wimalendra and Pratiti Bando.
Five years ago Dr Downie was all but the Monash Medical Centre’s children’s cancer department – and a part-time one at that. Thanks to Bailey’s Day the Children’s Cancer Centre now has a staff of 21 and has trained six oncology fellows.
So never let anyone tell you you can’t make a difference; just look at what has been achieved by all of our supporters in the name of one little boy.
 |
Left
to Right: Patrick Tessier,
Mark Sawicki & Keith Corr |
|
THANKS
BOYS!
No
two people have embraced the meaning and spirit of Bailey's Day
more enthusiastically than Keith Corr and Mark Sawicki. Mark
generously donates his time and considerable personality to conduct
the auction each year, while Keith's support and generosity have
been immense. One year Keith paid $4,000 for a weekend for 10
people on a houseboat, which he immediately donated back to Monash
to be used by weary parents of patients.
Without
the support of these two wonderful men, Bailey's Day would not
be the success that it is. They and others who have done so much
for the cause were recently honoured by Monash Medical Centre
with certificates recognising their contributions. We're lucky
to have them.
And
we're lucky to have you. Thanks to your continued support, sick
children now receive better care from more qualified people than
ever before. And all the while, those dedicated researchers work
towards a cure.
All
this is only possible because of the way Bailey's Day has been
embraced and supported. It's a great day, one that has become
incredibly important to so many people.
|
