Homelessness fundraiser raises close to $130,000 in a day

OUTSTANDING SUCCESS: Pictured above are 2023 Limestone Coast Support Homeless People Luncheon coordinator Jason Wallace, Premier Peter Malinauskas and ac.care chief executive officer Shane Maddocks celebrate the success of the luncheon, which raised close to $130,000 to support vulnerable people.

A MAJOR charity event at The Barn Palais has raised close to $128,000 to boost the work of regional South Australian organisation ac.care to support people at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

The 2023 Limestone Coast Support Homeless People Luncheon, traditionally held every two years, returned to the venue after five years of delays caused by COVID-19 restrictions.

Around 430 people, representing many businesses, along with civic and community leaders, from across the region, Adelaide and interstate, welcomed the return of the networking and charity luncheon on July 28, with Premier Peter Malinauskas adding to the appeal as the event guest speaker.

“We were thrilled to be back at The Barn Palais for this major event and overwhelmed by the generosity of the business community with $127,786 raised and donations continuing to come in over recent days,” ac.care chief executive officer Shane Maddocks said.

“It was not only an extraordinary fundraiser, but fantastic opportunity to share our work with the community and speak to businesses about how we can work together more closely to do more to support people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in our community and break cycles of disadvantage - together we can make a difference.”

Mr Maddocks thanked the diverse contributors who made the event a success, including the dedicated team at The Barn and major sponsors, including DiGiorgio Family Wines, Coopers, Thomas Foods, Barry Maney Group, auctioneer Andrew Whan of Miller Whan and John, emcee Di Ind of Limestone Coast Solutions and guest speaker Mr Malinauskas.

“The long list of supporters, sponsors and donors of supplies, along with raffle and auction items, represents many of the region’s businesses and we are truly grateful for this support,” Mr Maddocks said.

“A special thank you also to the brave people who shared their deeply personal stories of how ac.care helped them move from homelessness to a more secure future and Tim Brennan for his deeply meaningful and grounding Welcome to Country.”

Mr Maddocks said the event was more important than ever after need in the community had grown over recent years due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, rising cost of living and ongoing lack of affordable housing and after the organisation’s fundraising capacity had been restricted due to the pandemic restrictions.

“We were thrilled to bring back the luncheon and proud to continue the legacy of the late Barry Maney OAM, who, together with Barry Stafford and the initial event committee, brought businesses together for the first time over 10 years ago for the first luncheon to support our work and humbled that the generosity of our community continues,” Mr Maddocks said.

Event manager Jason Wallace of ac.care said every dollar raised would go towards the work of ac.care to support vulnerable country people.

“This major fundraiser truly makes a difference in the lives of hundreds of vulnerable country people at times of crisis and we could not achieve all we do without such significant and valued support,” he said.

“Thank you everyone – together we are changing lives for the better and helping people move from crisis to stability, safety and hopefulness.”

A major charity auction at the event, featuring 27 items, including some late additions announced on the day, raised more than $50,000, with the premier’s offer of dinner for 10 people as his guests at Parliament House raising the highest price at $7000.

Raffles and other activities were also held on the day with broad support from regional businesses helping boost the fundraising result.