Rosalie Bennetts, of Cora Lynn, with one of the pillow cases she has made for children at Ronald McDonald House. 37048WHEN Rosalie Bennetts put out a call to friends and relatives to donate hand-made goods for a stall to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House, she expected a good response.
What she didn’t expect was that the 930 items they donated would help break a fundraising record.
“The stall for the first time in its history made $5500,” she said.
“It would normally take a year to raise that.”
Almost 50 people from all corners of the community and Western Australia and Queensland got behind the cause making beanies, scarves, quilts, homemade jewellery, quilts, bookmarks and cards and sewing for the stall.
The money those items raised was given to a young girl whose body had rejected a kidney transplant.
It’s not the first time Ms Bennetts, who co-ordinated the fundraising effort, has brightened the lives of young children at Ronald McDonald House.
She has been making pillowcases, together with friends at Bayles’ Seventh Day Adventist Church, for the past three years.
“The whole thing started when I had to finish work because of my treatment for breast cancer,” she explained.
“I looked on the internet and there was a lady talking about making pillowcases and donating pillows to Ronald McDonald House.”
Members of Ms Bennetts’ church have produced 60 pillowcases in three years, all with bright eye-catching designs.
Ms Bennetts said the support of her latest project had been overwhelming and she was already organising to collect goods for next year’s stall.
She thanked Sue and Sandy at Sewing Connections, Pakenham florist Jo Barnes and Nola Fraser of the Machine Knitting group in Kooweerup – and everyone else who got involved.
“There are just far too many to name individually,” she said.
