Done and dusted for another year, the Variety Bash funny cars have whipped through town, delighted local school children and disappeared again into a cloud of red dust in the name of raising funds for disadvantaged children and their families. If you heard all the sirens and horns blaring then you heard the posse of forty 25 year old vans, cars and 4WD's driven by wild and colourful characters who, in a special presentation at O'Connor Primary School, handed over a brand new 12-seater bus to the Education Support Centre. The 'Variety Sunshine' coach is worth $70,000 and can seat two students with wheelchairs so they can go on excursions and practice their life skills. The Bash started in Albany on September 1st and took participants on a 2,500km journey through the heart of WA's gold region visiting Hyden, Norseman, Kalgoorlie, Sandstone and Dalwallinu before returning to Perth on September 8th.
Long time Basher, turned Event Coordinator, Geoff Kemp, says the Bash is a rewarding event for all involved. "I've been involved with the Variety WA Bash for over 20 years and from my experience there is no greater reward than to see the smiles on the kids faces that we meet and assist along the way. It's well worth all the hard yards of fundraising, driving for hours and the late nights - it's an experience that you never, ever get sick of," he said. Each participating Bash team must commit to raising a $10,000 minimum donation to Variety, in addition to paying all the entry fees, fuel and accommodation themselves. Competition has been fierce however with many teams exceeding the minimum to help make a real difference to the lives of WA children in need.
Part proceeds from the 2012 Golden Outback back will go towards the upgrade of the interior of the Variety Pelican House - a respite centre funded by Variety in 2002 for Activ Foundation. Since then, up to 150 families have accessed the centre every year, which is open 365 days a year and offers regular short stay breaks of much-needed support for children living with disability. $400,000 fundraising dollars from the Bash will be used to fund an indoor refurbishment, which will provide a contemporary home environment with a range of play, educational and recreational options. Once complete, Activ plans on opening Variety Pelican House for use by other disadvantaged children and their families within the community together, giving many WA children and their families a much-needed break every year.
It is the 24th year of the fundraising event, which has been held annually since 1989 and has raised in excess of $19 million dollars for WA kids in need. In 2011, Variety WA directly touched the lives of 23,399 WA children in need, providing $3.1 million worth of equipment, special experiences and programs through grants to 329 individual children and other children's charities and organisations. You can involved with Variety in a number of ways such as volunteering, membership or by fundraising for Variety or you can simply donate. Please check out their website and do what you can however great or small to help bring a smile to a little face.
It's that time of year again....Telethon time! November 10 and 11 are just around the corner so I've put together all the ways you be can part of the Telethon action and help make a difference in the lives of this years Little Stars and many others. 2012's Little Stars are:
Conor Brown from Atwell (Age 8) Condition: Systemic Lymphangiectasia School: Atwell Primary School Conor was nominated by Kathy Snell, Education Assistant at Atwell Primary School who describes him as ...
Looking for something to do this Saturday Night? Big fan of Spicks and Specks? Then Mission possible sounds like the gig for you! Come and listen to a live band while testing your musical knowledge, $80 for a table of 8 so your mates can join in on the fun too! To buy tickets call Amy on 0416 940 915 or check out Kalgoorlie Community Show Bands face book page:
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The Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce deserve a big round of applause for pulling off another bumper Festival without a hitch. Was it just me or were there thousands of people there, it was busy, busy, busy! These awesome Christmas gift ideas are from Cast and Create, preserve your precious memories and score a nice piece of wall art at the same time:
What parent in their right mind would buy one of these giant buckets of Fairy floss craziness for their kids, honestly?
You...
Kalgoorlie Urban Landcare Group had their stall at the Spring Festival and as usual had lots of interesting things to look at as well as an abundance of information of life here in the Goldfields. KBULG are a excellent organisation that work with the community to promote awareness of landcare in our region and to develop education programs and activities that let people get involved at a grass roots level. If you would like to join KBULG or simply find out more information check out the websi...
Bit of something different at the Boulder Markets at the Boulder Cup which is all good for photos. The weather was beautiful with families everywhere and the parcel check to drop your stuff off and keep shopping unencumbered was a fantastic idea!
Indigenous art (sold by Dixie Weatherall ) is so dynamic, I love the earthy colours:
Dixie also sells this bush medicine, made from bush leaves, extra virgin olive oil and beeswax. It's said to relieve aches and pains and be good for ulce...
This post is close my heart and I'm proud and excited to bring it to you. So often with not-for-profit organizations it's not until there is a misfortune in your family that you come to require their assistance and only then do you feel the need to give something back. I know I felt this way about Princess Margaret Hospital after baby girl had her operation when she was nine months old. It was lucky that we were in Perth at the time otherwise I'm sure we would've needed the as...
The gorgeous girls at Fossick Handmade have pulled yet another rabbit out of their delightfully quirky hat with a Maker's Market to celebrate their first birthday. Happy birthday Fossick! This stunning piece of of art is by Adele Workman-Davies who I talked about in the Boulder Market Day post, I love her mixed media work because the colours are so vibrant and eye-catching:
Mumma Who Makes strikes again with her awesome ninja dolls, I can think of a couple of kiddies who would l...
Again I'm straying off the golden track but one thing I was really excited about to going to Perth for (other than Gaga!) was this exhibition at the WA Art Gallery, 14 modern masters straight from New York - honestly not an opportunity to be missed! If you want to get a little more info you can visit MoMA's website, but these are some pics I took on my iPhone. I had my kids with me and Master 6 was maybe just a little too young to understand what we were seeing so I quickly rushed thr...
All I can say is the amount of clever, crafty and entrepreneurial types in Kalgoorlie-Boulder never ceases to amaze me and the market was chock-a-block today! And the weather was beautiful, nice to enough to cruise around in a cotton skirt and tee and soak up some lovely, warming rays. There were lots of different things for sale today so I'm going to group them up but I am going to start by plugging the Goldfields Comedy Gala Thursday 20th September at the Boulder Town Hall, tickets are ...
Yesterday Kalgoorlie Boulder Urban Landcare Group hosted a tree planting day at the top end of Burt St, lots of families and volunteers from KCGM and Barrick showed up to turn some soil into a new home for native flora and hopefully fauna! This is the ground before the trees were planted, from what I understand the irrigation was made possible by the generous support of KCGM.
I love geckos so I had to get a shot of this little dude on the side of KBULG's van:
Busy, busy toiling ...
Welcome to Zen Dolls. My name is Jaz and I thank you for taking the time to stop by. I’m all about sharing the light and the sharing the love and I’m honoured to do it with you! Namaste xx
