Order of the Eastern Star

88 years of fundraising

Members of Wollongong Chapter No 59, Order of the Eastern Star, were recently asked to nominate a charity to which a donation of $2,500 per member could be made.

Sixteen charities were named; some members chose the same recipients which then increased the amounts to the individual charity involved.

We arranged an afternoon tea to follow our regular meeting on 20 June 2021 and invited representatives of the nominated charity organisations to attend and receive their donations.

We welcomed representatives from six of the charities chosen:

Supported Accommodation & Homelessness Services, The Shepherd Centre, Ostomy NSW, RSPCA, Agnes Ginges Centre (Molecular Cardiology research), The Disability Trust, and the son-in-law of one of our members came along to speak on behalf of Ronald McDonald House.

Each recipient along with their Chapter nominators had photographs taken receiving their cheques and each representative spoke on behalf of their organisation giving us an insight into the services they provide and the people who benefit in our community. Some of the stories were very moving and our members were left with a sense of pride

...our members were left with a sense of pride and tears in their eyes...

and tears in their eyes knowing that in some small way Wollongong Chapter was assisting these organisations to continue their wonderful services and research to benefit those in need.

The following charities were unable to attend and received their donations by mail:

Bears of Hope, Cure Brain Cancer, Smith Family (Sponsor a Child), MS Research, Ronald McDonald House, Leukaemia Foundation, Garvan Institute (Molecular Cardiology research), Beyond Blue, Black Dog Institute and Oesophageal Cancer research.

We are very proud that Wollongong Chapter donated a total of $75,000 through this initiative and we look forward to continuing our fundraising efforts.