By David Nagel
It truly is amazing what can happen when the local community bands together as one.
Pakenham Cricket Club (PCC) hosted the ninth edition of its hugely popular Pink Ladies Day at Toomuc Reserve on Saturday, with more than 200 people gathering in the upstairs function room to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation.
The room was a sea of pink, with comedian Bev Killick providing huge laughs and plenty of entertainment with her risqué routine while members of the Pakenham Football Club kept the crowd fully refreshed and hydrated.
But it was the Pakenham Cricket Club, and the McGrath Foundation, that emerged the biggest winners, with a magnificent $25,693 being raised for the worthy cause.
PCC President Phil Anning was near emotional on Tuesday morning when the final sum of money was tallied.
“It’s a wonderful result for the McGrath Foundation, who does such great work in the community, and I am so proud of what was raised,” Anning said.
“All the hard work that was put in by our volunteers, that put so much time and effort into putting the event on, has been rewarded with this outstanding amount.
“Thanks to Debbie, Donna and Marti and their support crew for the outstanding job they did in putting the day together.
“The Pakenham Football Club was also fantastic, with Derrick Brown and Bev Harmon doing a great job in running and managing the bar and for allowing us to use the venue in the first place.
“To the 206 attendees thank you so much for digging deep and being so supportive of this important and most worthy cause.”
The staggering amount raised on Saturday lifts the overall contribution from the PCC to $87,000 to the McGrath Foundation in the nine years the event has been held.
The local community came together like never before to contribute to this year’s event.
A total of 35 local businesses made direct financial contributions to the McGrath Foundation this year, with 30 businesses donating prizes for the many raffles and auctions that took place on the day.
The PCC also sold virtual seating this year, with 130 seats, purchased for $10 each, forming a solid base of $1300.00 for this year’s fundraising.
Anning said it was a great day for the community.
“Just to see so many smiling faces is a great thing, but for all of those people to come together as one for such a worthy cause is just outstanding,” he said.
“Our comedian, Bev Killick, was sensational, and thanks to Tooradin Cricket Club for the part they played in the day, both on and off the field.”
The day was big day for the Lions on all fronts, with its first eleven defeating Tooradin in a low scoring match on the main oval at Toomuc.
For more on the big day, including some great photos, turn to page 30 and 31 of this week’s Berwick-Pakenham Gazette.
