After being forced to abandon plans for their 2023 event, the Apex Club of Corowa are relieved to have secured the necessary official approvals that will enable them to walk their wheelbarrow from Corowa to Balldale in support of the Good Friday Appeal on March 29.
As with so many of the families in the local area, the Royal Children’s Hospital is close to the hearts of a number of Apex Club members. The idea for the walk being sparked two years ago as a result of one of their daughters requiring life saving treatment at the facility.
“We were just sitting around in the shed talking about how we could help when the idea for the walk came up,” Apex Club representative Greg Dickins said.
“We raised $20,000 that first year so we were really disappointed that we couldn’t walk last year but we’re very hopeful that the 2024 event will be even more successful.”
Apex club members will walk the entire 26 kilometres from the Bow Street club rooms to the Balldale Pub pushing a wheelbarrow that they will be encouraging residents and passers-by to make donations to with the aim of beating their previous total.
The walk will take about five and a half hours to complete and will conclude with a Family Fun Day being coordinated by the Our Town Balldale group at Bruce Richardson park.
Group president Junanne Wilson told the Free Press that the afternoon would provide kids and their families with a range of simple, old fashioned activities and entertainment for all to enjoy.
“We’ll start with a barbecue at 1pm and the afternoon will be full of traditional games like egg and spoon and sack races, an easter bonnet parade, colouring in stations, biscuit decorating and the Easter Bunny will be making an appearance to help the kids with an easter egg hunt.
As both the mother and sister of children who have needed the services of the Royal Children’s Hospital, Junanne has seen first-hand the wonderful work that the hospital does.
“My sister was one of the first open heart surgery children at the hospital many years ago, and my daughter was diagnosed with leukemia when she was three years old, so we have a very close and long-standing personal connection to the Royal Children’s.” she said.
“We’ve done a lot of fundraising over the years to help support them.
“Our daughter was one of four local children who were all diagnosed around the same time with leukemia and we were all lucky enough to have such an incredible hospital available to us as all of our children survived.
“Our daughter is now thirty-three and an active member of the community. She will actually be helping to facilitate the games on Good Friday.”
Complete with the Apex Club’s jumping castle and mega raffle the combined events are guaranteed to be crowd pleasers, but Junanne jovially warns parent’s,
“It will definitely not be a sugar free event!
“It’s just going to be a big kid’s party in the park for everybody to enjoy.”
For further information or to donate to the event contact Junanne Wilson on 0429 351 213 or Apex Club of Corowa on (02) 6033 1667.