Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
“WITH help, we can always find the right road,” guest speaker Jane Fletcher told attendees at The Otis Foundation Mother’s Day luncheon.
About 170 people attended the event at the Silks Function Centre on Thursday because they believed in just that.
Breast cancer survivor Elaine Lavender came from Trawool, near Seymour, for the occasion.
She has never been on an Otis retreat, but has adopted the charity as her cause.
Asked why she felt so strongly about it, Ms Lavender said: “You all of a sudden don’t feel like you are going through it alone.”
Her friend Christine Dumaresq drove more than three hours to support her at the event, which aimed to raise $10,000 to provide free retreats for people experiencing breast cancer and their families.
Many people brought their mothers as their special guests, including Lisa Campbell, whose family donated the land cancer retreat Kez’s Hideaway is being built on.
“It’s just so lovely to drive by and see it,” Mrs Campbell said.
She and her husband Andrew decided to donate a portion of their 20-acre property at Redesdale to the project, which is nearing completion, in the hope of inspiring their two children and giving back to the community.
The family was affected by the Black Saturday fires of 2009.
Mrs Campbell said she was grateful for having become involved with Otis.
“They [the children] know you don’t have to have lots of money to give back and it is a good thing to help people out,” she said.
Highlights of the luncheon included Ms Fletcher’s speech, a fashion show by Blue Illusion, and Margot Spalding’s emceeing.