Foundation’s Good Friday walk raises a staggering figure due to the generosity of the Victorian public
The heavens opened up in Melbourne this Good Friday, however the showers did nothing to dampen the spirits of the eclectic group of walkers who joined this year’s Good Friday appeal. The Friends of the Children Society have been participating in this annual event for 16 years and the number of volunteers has grown from 50 to 250 over the years. Participants of this annual event come from all walks of life and this year the volunteers ranged from the age of six to 70, including a large number of youngsters.
As planned earlier, the walkers left Clayton Railway Station at 9am with 34 registered participants in the group, and headed for Melbourne Exhibition and Entertainment Centre, South Wharf.
The rain started when they stopped for their first break at Monash University in Caulfield. After a delay of 10-15 extra minutes, a decision was made to continue with the walk. Fortunately the rain eased off and then stopped completely around 1.30pm. After a long, albeit enjoyable stretch the walkers reached their destination around 3pm.
Collections were made at various intersections on that day adding to the ongoing fundraising efforts made by The Friends Of The Children Foundation.
A cheque of $19,980 was presented to the Good Friday Appeal and the presentation was telecast live on channel 7 around 4.30pm.
According to Shashi Kocchar from The Friends Of The Children Foundation all the participants were unanimous in their opinion that this was a great initiative where the community walks together in solidarity towards a common goal.
“We would love to hear from more volunteers and sponsors in the future and we encourage participation without any discrimination,” said Kocchar. “This is a wonderful experience and I urge the community to actively participate in such events. It’s for a good cause and it is a great feeling”.
The organisers from Friends of The Children Foundation are hoping that their final donation figure will reach close to $25,000. Overall, the 2014 Royal Children Hospital Friday Appeal raised well above $16 million dollars on the day due to the generosity of Victorian public.
