Fund Raising Events

Link to all events on the National RAR website    https://www.ruralaustraliansforrefugees.org.au/events/

donations are collected at each market stall - click here to see newsletters for dates and reports

Total to date from all sources 

from 2014 = $18,466

_{Fundraising lunch on 31}^st _{March: SOLD OUT!!}

_{Amazingly, the 36 places available for the upcoming fundraiser at Margie and Georgie’s house in Mylestom have all been snapped up! However, we are very keen to receive items for the auction. If you have an item that you think will sell for at least $20, then could you please let M and G know by emailing them at:  gsmh@fastmail.fm. Collection can be arranged if necessary. It is important for us to have the details of all the items for the auction so that we can produce a catalogue a couple of days before the event. Our hope is to have at least 30 items to put under the hammer. We already have some exciting items lined up, so watch this space!} 

Songs from the Heart Concert: Sunday 17^th February 2019

_{Report on the “Songs from the Heart” Concert}

_{We were delighted to be offered the opportunity to have a presence at the Songs from the Heart concert in the beautiful main hall of the Nambucca Community and Arts Centre on Sunday 17}^th_{February. The concert was well-attended and much enjoyed by the appreciative audience. Takings from our raffle, sales of works of art and donations amounted to $376, which will be donated to the Asylum Seekers Centre. We also sold merchandise amounting to $230, and the profits from these sales will also be sent to ASC. It was a great opportunity to promote our cause and to speak up for refugees and asylum seekers, especially those who have been languishing for more than five years on Manus and Nauru. We collected lots of signatures on our letter to minister Dutton and signed up a number of new supporters.}

_{A huge thank you to our great team of helpers, and to Heather Rose for allowing us to promote our cause at her concert.}

scroll down to see breakdown after details of special fund raising events

Report on meeting on 14 October 2018

_{Report on Sunday’s RAR event in Valla Beach}

<sub>Who would have believed that the rain would hold off for our meeting and fundraising event on Sunday? A huge thank you to the 45 people who attended, to all those who donated items for the auction, to Snez and Stewart for their wonderful singing, and to everyone who brought so much delicious food to share. We had a lot of fun, enjoyed one another’s company and confirmed our commitment to keep up the fight to end the brutality of the government’s current asylum policy. In addition, we raised a fantastic sum for the Asylum Seekers Centre in Sydney, to assist them in their great work with asylum seekers in NSW. We made $215 on the raffle, collected $225 in donations and made an amazing $2,285 on the auction, making a grand total of $2,800, all of which will be donated to the ASC. We are fortunate indeed to have so many big-hearted and generous people in our RAR community.

A furth</sub>er $200 was received from supporters who could not attend the meeting, bringing the total to $3000

Meeting and Fund Raising 14 October 2018

Our meeting and fundraiser: Sunday 14^th October from 11.00 am

A big thank you to all of you who have offered items for the auction. Please keep them coming! It’s really important that we have the details in advance so that we can number the items and put a running order together.

It’s also important that we have lots of people who plan to attend. Please support our efforts to raise $1,000 for the ASC, by letting Mike know that you will be there on 14^th October. A quick email to: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com would be appreciated. Please arrive at 11.00 am for the meeting, or at midday for music and lunch followed by the auction.

In addition to the auction items received so far, we took delivery this week of a very special contribution. It’s a classical guitar by Maton, Australia’s leading guitar maker. It’s a C25 model, serial number 325, made in 1972 and it’s in superb condition. It doesn’t just make a beautiful sound, it’s also a rare collector’s item. There is a C25 currently advertised on Gumtree for $899. Please share this information with anyone who you think might be interested in purchasing this lovely instrument, as we realise that we will have to cast the net widely to get a sensible price for it that reflects its value. You can view photos of the instrument on our Facebook page by clicking on the link at the end of the newsletter.

Marlene Griffin raising funds from art 

_{Dear Editor,}

_{As from the start of this month our government has cut off basic support services for many asylum seeker families living in Australia. The meagre allowances they once had will no longer be available to them. Many families will, from now on, be living in increasingly desperate circumstances suffering homelessness and destitution. Churches and charities  are being called upon as a last resort for support but the needs are too great for them to manage. These  support services are essential to these families to cover  basic food needs , help with accommodation , legal services ,  medical services and language tuition. Children will be increasingly at risk from these cuts to provision .} 

_{I am Artist of The Month for August at the Stringer Gallery on Ridge Street , Nambucca Heads,  and will be donating any proceeds from the sale of my art work to support relief services for these families. I have kept the prices on my works as low as possible to encourage sales. Some original art works are selling for as little as $ 15.} 

_{I hope that there will be support in our community for this cause. The gallery is open Wed to Frid from 10 am to 3.00pm and on Saturday morning from 9. 30 am to noon. Please call in and take a look.} 

_{Marlene Griffin}

_{Valla Beach} 

_{8 August 2018} 

Reaching Out Concert  10 June 2018

_{Sunday’s concert was a truly uplifting and enjoyable occasion which was greatly appreciated by the audience.  Heather Rose’s introductory song, in recognition of the nature of the event, was an amazing rendition of “Imagine” , accompanied by Ken McKelvie on the didgeridoo and Micklo Jarret  with his quiet, haunting translation into the Gumbaynggir language. Heather played  a wide range of pieces from Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven to Fats Waller, which the audience loved. The Wild Women of Anywhere Beach opened their set with a beautiful song about refugees which they had written  for the occasion, and concluded with the hilarious “Chicken song”.  The concert made a profit of $1,355, to which we have added $145 from donations and profits from recent markets, enabling us to make a donation of $1500 to the Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown, Sydney, which is a great outcome.}

_{A huge thank you to our performers, to our gang of volunteers who made it all work on the day, and to everyone who attended.}

_{If anyone has any creative ideas about future fundraising activities, then do please get in touch with us at: bellingen.rar@gmail.com.}

_{Simon Tedeschi concert 12 June 2016}

Donations from 2014 

_{From time to time, market-goers ask us what we do with the money that we raise. Since we opened our RAR bank account in August 2014, we have made the following donations:}

_{Children Out of Detention: $3315}

_{Refugee Advice and Casework Services: $4200}

_{Asylum Seekers Centre: $9256}

_{In addition, we raised approximately $700 to pay the fares from Sydney for an Iranian family who spent five days with us in 2017.}

_{Total to August 2018: $18,466}