Sophie Conlon
Seventeen-year-old Amelia Clark has raised more than $1300 for the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal through hosting a charity concert.
The annual tradition started when Amelia was 10 and wanted to contribute to the community by helping those in need.
“It feels good, my first intention for doing this was to make sure that people who didn’t have anything or were on the lesser side were actually able to get something,“ she said.
“I decided that to raise money for the Red Shield Appeal would be a good idea to help these people.“
Amelia said she was proud of her fundraising efforts, and was thankful to everyone who had helped by donating money or items for a silent auction that was held during the performance.
“We were able to raise $1335, that’s just cash, we also had a tap and go so we haven’t tallied that up yet,“ she said.
She said the funds raised for the Red Shield Appeal would stay in the Mount Gambier/Berrin community and was especially needed as winter crept in.
“All the money, it stays in our community so it doesn’t go anywhere else and it’s used for shelter, clothing and food for all the people who rock up to the Salvos that need it,“ she said.
About 100 people came out to Wehl Street Theatre to see the performance, which Amelia said included various musical and dance acts.
“We started off with a music section, and then we moved into a dancing section with a lot of different studios,“ she said.
“We had the Mount Gambier City Band, The Salvos Band, the Timbrel Brigade, the Grant High School Band, we had some individuals who performed songs on the piano, and then we had Hype, Crimson, Envy and MJ [dance schools] do some dances for us.“
The Clark family works together to bring Amelia’s concept to life each year and she said she enjoyed working with them.
“It’s actually really good, I’m comfortable with them,“ she said.
“Most of the ideas come from me, but making sure they come together is a whole family effort, with the leaders of the Salvation Army.“
Amelia’s mother, Jacinta Clark said each year the concert had grown and Amelia had learned more about running the event as she got older.
“It’s great that her vision from when she was young, she is able to see that through,“ she said.
“It started as a small little thing and it’s amazing to see how it’s grown and what it’s become, every year it gets bigger and better and we learn new skills along the way.“
Planning to go to university in Adelaide next year, Amelia said she hoped her younger siblings would continue the tradition.
“The tradition will be handed down to my siblings to run,“ she said.
Ms Clark said her son Charlie stepped into the role of MC this year, dipping his feet into what would be his event to plan in the future.
