BARRINGTONS BOWLED OVER BY SUPPORT

Over 125 club employees and representatives of the hospitality industry turned out last Friday at Taren Point Bowling Club for the fourth annual Help2Help Charity Bowls Day. They raised over $50,000 from the event.

The day may have started out overcast, but the sun came out with a vengeance by the time play commenced at 10 am. It made thirsty work for the 32 teams who completed two rounds of competition before the lunch and auction commenced.

Competition was fierce with teams and individual players representing Club Rivers, Engadine Bowling Club, Cabra-Vale Diggers, Foster Bowling Club, Club Engadine, Wests Ashfield, Ramsgate RSL, Cabra Bowls, Canley Heights RSL, Moorebank Sports, Windang Bowls, St Johns Park, Bowling Club, Merrylands RSL, Diggers at Miranda, Club Marconi, Kogarah RSL, ClubsNSW and Taren Point Bowling Club.  Also taking the field were teams from Ainsworth, JSF Consulting, WeDrive Australia, Sunblest Cleaning, Mark Smith Constructions, Westpac, CUB, IGT, Exact Security, Aron Power, Michael Ruggeri, Blayne Webb, Tanya Hill and many other supporters. (Apologies to anyone we have missed).

There were also two feature teams headed by Sharks premiership-winning captain and Help2Help Ambassador Paul Gallen and the Footy Show’s Daryl “The Big Marn” Brohman.

Coming out on top at the end of the competition was the Westpac team who pipped last year’s winners Cabramatta Bowling Club. IGT came in at a credible third place.

The event is organised each year by the Barrington Group in aid of the charity established by founded by Barrington Director Blayne Webb and his wife Faye in 2012.

In just over five years, Help2Helps’ accomplishments are many and all are the legacy of a dedicated 100% volunteer network. Some of these accomplishments include:

• More than 9,000 food packs delivered to the poorest families between Phnom Penh and Chikreng District.
• Over 30 village health clinics with registered nurses acting as a triage to international hospitals as required.
• Financial support for families in urgent need of health support, food and shelter.
• Provision of more than 100 pigs, throughHelp2Help’s Pig Project, to establish a breeding program to pyramid throughout some of the poorest villages.
• The delivery of shipping containers from Australia to Cambodia containing much needed medical equipment, school equipment, medical supplies and clothing for the Chikreng District Hospital, River Hospital and River School.
• The induction of more than 200 Help2Help Ambassadors who have participated in Help2Help Charity Tours.
• Completion of the Help2Help Education Centre, a fourteen classroom vocational training centre in the district of Chikreng. The concept is to provide much needed vocational skills to enable a shift from the poverty cycle which exists within the district.
• The construction of “Ratha’s Restaurant”, a facility within the help2help centre which will provide practical experience for the hospitality students to later secure employment.
• The commencement of English, Hygiene, Computer Studies for villagers throughout the 73 villages of the District of Chikkreng.
• The commencement of the Schools of Hospitality, Housekeeping, Agriculture and Textiles, which will provide the skills and experience for students to seek employment in the City of Siem Reap, or alternatively, take his experience back to their respective villages to upskill others.

2018 looks like being an exciting year with the launch of Help2Help Australia. The charity plans to partner with a number of clubs in different areas and to utilise the food van to attend schools to provide breakfast as a community outreach and integration project. Stay tuned for more details.

Since its inception Help2Help has been blessed with the assistance of the registered club industry. Many clubs send staff over to Cambodia on volunteer charity trips, whilst others have provided funds and support through in-kind donations to hold functions, purchase shipping containers, member collection of clothes and furniture, attendance at fundraisers and so on.

Foundation sponsors include Wests Ashfield Leagues, Moorebank Sports Club and Club Rivers. Other clubs & supporters involved so far  include Taren Point Bowling Club, Tweed Heads Bowling Club, Campsie RSL, Canada Bay Club, Cabravale Diggers, Lynwood Country Club, Castle Hill RSL Club, Canley Heights RSL, St Johns Park Bowling Club, Club Windang, City Tattersalls Club, Blacktown Workers Group, Castle Hill RSL Group, Carlton United, Westend Estate, Fineline Printing, Wollongong Dental, Dean Bourne & The Robertson Brothers, Blast Engineering, Westmead Hospital, South Western Sydney Tafe, Global Coffee, Forty Winks, Urban Drift, ClubsNSW and a raft of other businesses and individuals.

The next group of club volunteers heads off in a few weeks time on November 23, with a following tour planned for May 2018 in the school holidays.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

To find out more about Help2Help and how you or your club or company can get involved go to http://www.help2help.org.au/

If you’d like to donate online click here >> http://www.help2help.org.au/donate

Just $25 can feed a family for a month. Such a little can help a lot.