Seymour raised $48,775 for the 2023 Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal, which took place on Friday, April 7.
Each year, donations from the Good Friday Appeal support ground-breaking research, equipment and technology, family-centred care programs and attracting and retaining the brightest minds.
In keeping with a 72-year tradition, CFA volunteers were seen in trucks around the region raising money in their local communities.
The Seymour CFA headquarters provided the home ground for this year’s appeal.
Mick Sanderson, who has been co-ordinating the Seymour appeal for more than 40 years, again ran this year’s proceedings with his daughter, Chris Lewis.
Ms Lewis said volunteers and community members were in high spirits.
“It is something that the CFA do encourage members to get involved in,” she said of the appeal.
“It’s just a community thing. The CFA is naturally community involved, so it just follows on.”
Door-knocking began about 9.30am and had concluded by 2pm.
There had been collections on various days at Bunnings Seymour, as well as a raffle at the Prince of Wales Hotel which sold 600 tickets in three weeks.
This year, along with a Seymour-specific QR code for donations via smartphone, there was also a tap-and-go option, allowing people to donate in an increasingly cashless economy.
The mammoth fundraising effort was also helped by a large donation from Tennex, a local railway infrastructure maintenance and construction company.
Matt Tennant and Madeline Richards from Tennex produced jumpers, shirts and hats to help raise money for the appeal and within three weeks had raised $18,000.
Ms Lewis said organisers wanted to thank the community for its generosity.
“We weren’t expecting to get as much as we did because we knew people were hurting because of the floods, so the generosity of people was just amazing,” she said.
“It doesn’t always happen that way, we have highs and lows.”
Good Friday Appeal chairman Penny Fowler said that the appeal continued to shine a light on the very best of Victorian communities.
“What big, generous hearts Victorians have had this year,” she said.
“This final tally could not have been reached without the dedicated communities across the state who have come together for the kids.”
The final tally for Victoria was $23,061,320.
This year, funds from the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal will go directly towards new and ongoing programs, including cardiac projects, the Centre for Health Analytics, development of the Melbourne Children's Campus Mental Health Strategy and vibrant youth program Chronic Illness Peer Support (ChIPS).
Since 1931, the Good Friday Appeal has raised $444 million for the Royal Children’s Hospital.