Reach out for an important cause

FUN DAY

Sunday Reach Out Fun Day

May 4, 8am to 2pm

Hall Park, Mandurah Western Foreshore

Mandurah’s western foreshore will come alive with colour on Sunday for the Reach Out Drop In Centre’s Reach Out Fun Day.

Two Mandurah community members volunteered their time to organise the event to raise money for the not-for-profit centre, which is dedicated to providing evening and weekend meals to those less fortunate.

Mark and Michelle Jones teamed up with the organisation’s co-ordinator Nikki Wise three months ago to set the wheels in motion for the funfilled day.

Mrs Wise said it was the biggest event the centre, which feeds up to 158 people a week, had organised since opening in January 2012.

“We have never done anything like this; it has been a whirlwind journey... I’m still so proud and so honoured that people from the public want to come and help,” she said.

Mrs Wise said she met the couple at the centre’s two-year anniversary, they pitched the idea to her and the rest was history.

“We gave ourselves a three-month window to get it all together and we think we’ve pulled it off,” she said.

Mrs Jones said she and her husband wanted to organise the event to do something to help those in need in the region.

“The main reason is because there are not many places in Mandurah that help people,” she said. “We have been down on our luck before and we know that the drop-in centre doesn’t get Government funding.

“We hope the event will raise massive awareness for the centre and allow people to donate, but also let people know it is there so they can come down if need be.”

Mrs Wise said support from the community was needed now more than ever, with record numbers of clients flowing through the centre’s doors in April.

“The most we’ve had on a Saturday is 58 clients... three weeks ago we had 73 clients in three hours,” she said.

“And we are still seeing up to 10 new people a week.”

The free day will include a sausage sizzle and children’s activities, including a snow truck.

All funds will go towards the Reach Out Drop In Centre.