Friends of Horton House & Warmington Lodge are holding a fundraising stall this Friday, November 12 from 9am to about 1pm at the corner of Comur and Meehan Street.
Committee President Rowena Weir said they’re selling cakes, biscuits, garden produce, plants, jams, preserves and chutneys.
The not-for-profit group holds its stall yearly to raise funds for the local aged care facility.
It will also mark the launch of their annual Christmas raffle, their largest fundraiser of the year, which will be drawn on Saturday, December 11.
“The Christmas raffles pretty well known in town,” Rowena said. “It’s been going for a long time now probably about 20 years.”
Rowena said the committee has reduced the number of raffle prizes down to five over the last two years due to the pandemic.
“Prizes are fabulous,” she said. The first prize are three large Christmas baskets with ham, turkey, wine, pudding and festive trinkets.
Vice President Katie Walker is the lead organiser of the raffle and creates the basket prizes herself.
“[Katie] decorates it beautifully with Christmas decorations and it really looks spectacular,” Rowena said.
The other prizes are from donations from the community, which range from linen to a haircut at your local hairdressers.
Tickets can be purchased at Woolworths or the Newsagency on Friday, November 19; Thursday, November 25; Friday, November 26; Friday, December 3; Saturday, December 4; Friday, December 10; and the morning of Saturday, December 11.
The raffle will be drawn at the Christmas Party Friends of Horton House & Warmington Lodge hold in the activity room at Warmington Lodge.
Rowena said each year they donate about $6,000 directly to the residents at the aged care homes for birthday presents, Easter gifts, finger prizes, craft activities, puzzles, bingo, and a regular happy hour.
On top of that depending on the group’s budget they also provide funding for special requests such as setting gel and food moulds.
These are for residents who can’t chew properly and require their food to be soft and often mashed.
“The kitchen staff put the appropriate food into the moulds so that it looks like what they would expect it to eat and apparently that has really helped their appetites,” she said.
“So they’re in the shape of a carrot, rather than just a whole lot of mush on their plate looking pretty unappetizing.”
Head over to the stall tomorrow (November 12) near Miller’s Pharmacy on the corner of Comur and Meehan Street to support residents at Horton House and Warmington Lodge
By Brianna O’Rourke
Photo: Alison Cooke, Alison Jones, Trina Watchorn, Jim Longhurst, Lyn Morgan, Jo Limbrick, Lisa Tindall, and Amey Gruber
