At the start of October, we launched the ‘Lantern Club Turns PINK!’ campaign, our community fundraising initiative to fight breast cancer and raise awareness in the local community. We ran a series of fun pink-themed events with a specific goal in mind, to ‘Find the Canterbury 50’. BreastScreen NSW estimates there are 50 women in the Canterbury region aged 50-74 with undiagnosed breast cancer. Canterbury has one of the lowest breast screening rates in NSW at just 48%. This explains why some women are living with this insidious disease and don’t know it. With the help of our members, guests and corporate partners, we were determined to do what we could to encourage more women to get tested.
It’s fair to say the month-long pink campaign was an outstanding success. Not only did we smash our original fundraising goal, but also the awareness and community support was extraordinary.
Our original target of $57,900 was almost eclipsed after the very first event, our highly popular PINK! Dinner. Hosted by Australian TV icon Denise Drysdale, the gala event raised $51,535 alone. Taking into account the other events held during October, the final total raised came in at just over $70,000.
But it wasn’t only events held at Lantern Club that raised money for BreastScreen NSW. Local schools, sporting and community partners also got in on the community fundraising spirit by hosting pink-themed events such as bowls, swimming, discos and morning teas. The groundswell of support for such a worthy cause was quite amazing.
All money raised will be used to hire a full-time Community Engagement Officer at the BreastScreen NSW facility in Campsie. Their goal will be to work with Arabic, Greek, Korean, Chinese, Italian and other identified groups to provide education and increase testing rates. Communication issues and high levels of uncertainty in these communities have been identified as key reasons why breast cancer screening rates in Canterbury are so low. This person will play a major role in breaking down the barriers of communication while ensuring early detection leads to women getting the help they need to beat breast cancer.
Over the course of October (and the first Tuesday in November), we held a number of PINK! events. From extravagant dinners to social games of bingo, there was an event for everyone to get involved. These included:
- PINK! Fundraising Dinner – Our marquee event, the PINK! Dinner was once again a huge success. With hosting by two-time Gold Logie winner Denise Drysdale, food prepared by award-winning chef John Lanzafame, and entertainment from the Kamis, it was destined to be an amazing night.
- PINK! Bingo – Our players indulged in pink cupcakes and other assorted treats while doing their best to win a game of bingo or two!
- PINK! Sports events – It’s always important to promote health and fitness, especially when raising awareness around breast cancer. So we organised PINK! bowls, cricket, bocce and swim days to get people moving and raise funds at the same time.
- PINK! Melbourne Cup Finale – To wrap up our month of events we held a Melbourne Cup party on the first Tuesday in November. Members and guests dressed in their finest attire and enjoyed an afternoon of delicious food, champagne and revelry. Once again plenty of money was raised, while some even went home with cash in their pocket after backing Almandin in the big race.
- PINK! Instagram Competition – To ensure everyone could play their part in our Lantern Club Turns PINK! initiative, including those that couldn’t make it to the club, we ran an Instagram competition with fantastic prizes up for grabs. People were asked to get their creative juices flowing and post a pink themed image to their Instagram account with dedicated hashtags. The entries came thick and fast, but four lucky people won a $200 MàZi Restaurant voucher each. They can now celebrate with a first-class dining experience with their family and friends.
At Lantern Club we have fun events and member offers and discounts all year round, and we don’t want you to miss out. When you become a Lantern Club member you’ll unlock a world of rewards. Your membership card is the key to our membership rewards program, with accumulated points you can redeem for food, drinks, vouchers and so much more. You’ll also be given priority access to our regular events, promotions and activities.
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