A sold-out trivia night saw thousands raised for the local cancer organisation The Kyabram Gift.
On Friday, June 21, 17 teams of trivia aficionados went head-to-head in a battle of wits at the Parkland Golf Club, raising over $4750 for The Kyabram Gift.
This local organisation financially assists cancer patients and their families by providing transport to appointments, covering appointment costs, and offering other forms of support to Kyabram locals.
Shannon Miller, an employee at Kyabram District Health Service (KDHS), organised the Trivia Night.
She is leading a year-long fundraising campaign for The Kyabram Gift, which will conclude with her shaving her head in solidarity with cancer patients.
This is not her first fundraising rodeo for The Kyabram Gift; 13 years ago, she undertook the same journey, culminating in a shaved head and $5000 raised.
This year, she looked to beat her previous record, but she has already smashed that goal, with $4764 raised through this event alone and $500 raised through a morning tea held in May.
Shannon said she was surprised at how much they could raise on the night.
“I hoped to raise $3500 for the night but was shocked to count $4764,” Shannon said.
“It was very successful, and it exceeded how much I’d hoped people would have fun and how much we’d fundraise.”
To participate in the Trivia Night, attendees were asked to form groups of eight to ten people and pay $20 per person.
Seventeen tables of teams participated in the competitive and entertaining night hosted by KDHS cancer services manager Kelly Scorey.
At the beginning of the nine-round trivia, Mrs Scorey joked that if teams failed to hand in their sheet with their name on it, the team’s points for that round would be up for sale in an auction.
Controversy struck in the final minute when the leading team, aptly named Board of Executives, was exposed for not having written their name on one round of trivia; the room fell into chaos from that point.
Players from every team held up invisible bidding paddles, shouting out the amounts of money and even chocolate they were willing to pay for the points.
Amid the chaos, the Board of Executives were headfast in keeping their points and bid the highest amount—securing their points and, concurrently, securing the win of the night.
They walked away from the night with meal vouchers donated by Hurley’s Hotel and bragging rights.
Shannon said she was grateful to everyone who attended the night and was proud of how much she could fundraise.
“To have 17 tables show up was great – and I’m still getting feedback about how much fun it was, especially given that it was our first one,” Shannon said.
“Most of the people in the room I knew as work colleagues or were friends and family, so it was nice to get that support from them.
“It was great to see so many people show up, even when it was so cold, so thank you to everyone.”
Additionally, news from Trivia Night was the announcement of the return of the beloved Kyabram Gift ball, which has yet to have a set date since the start of COVID-19. Stay tuned for more information.
What’s next for Shannon’s campaign? She will hold a Ladies' Day fundraiser in Stanhope, where people can buy a ticket and donate to the Kyabram Gift and her upcoming shave.