Charlotte Varcoe
PLEDGES have been made to fund a feasibility study into developing a hospice care facility in Mount Gambier/Berrin following another fundraising event.
The Key2Kindness Charity Ball raised more than $25,000 to support In Home Hospice Care, alongside pledges equalling $20,000 to fund a feasibility study.
The charity ball was held at The Commodore on Friday, March 1 with Key2Sale staff entertaining a full house.
Key2Sale director and event organiser Gail Richards said the funds raised on the night was a “sensational effort”.
“It is such a huge thing to organise and to have that success on the night is just a great reward for all our team’s efforts to ensure we could raise as much money as possible,” Ms Richards said.
“That money will secure In Home Hospice Care as they are a not-for-profit and volunteer organisation and what that does is secure their work in the community.”
She said the funds would give In Home Hospice Care the money to secure it would continue its work within the community.
“We do not want to lose that service as it is so valuable for palliative care and support in the community,” Ms Richards said.
“We also want to be able to build from there towards our own hospice facilities, not only was the night about helping In Home Hospice Care, it was also about raising awareness for what we can do better in our community for palliative care.”
She said the night was also an “amazing platform” to get community members together and showcase through their guest speaker Dianne Wright from Anam Cara House in Geelong and Colac.
“She spoke on the importance of what a hospice can do for our community and for patients and their families going through that end of life journey,” Ms Richards said.
“Not everyone can stay at home and that is a big thing too, not everyone has care or family support and it takes a lot of burden off our hospital system because a lot of people do have to take multiple trips to the hospital over their journey.”
She said having a hospice facility in Mount Gambier/Berrin would mean patient’s pain management and care at the facility would also provide respite for carers.
Ms Richards said should there have been a hospice care facility within Mount Gambier/Berrin when her grandmother was in palliative care, it would have made the world of difference.
She said the Key2Sale and Key2Kindness members were “incredibly happy” about the feasibility study funds, claiming she believed it would “open the floodgates”.
“Unfortunately for us, talking to different government leaders, we have not been able to get any public money so we have been at a bit of a standstill until we can get the study done,” she said.
“Once we have a feasibility study we have got something to sell to the government what we actually need.
“You cannot sell something to the government unless you have a plan of what it is going to cost and what it is going to look like but the community also needs to know what it is going to look like if they are going to support it.”
