Its in the Bag
Leeuwin League provide charity support Former charity worker and fundraiser Janice Paddick-Hoover joined forces with Share the Dignity’s Christmas campaign “It’s in the Bag” and put her idea of helping the charity to her bowling companions at the Dunsborough & Districts Country Club.
Share the Dignity started two years ago with the goal of providing sanitary items to homeless women or women at risk of being homeless and It’s in the Bag has commenced to collect more items for women during the Christmas season and to allow them to understand they are not forgotten and to make them feel special.
Lorraine Lewis and Estelle Perry immediately offered to be part of a small committee to spread the word amongst the sporting bodies within the Country Club and around the township of Dunsborough.
At a pennants match Janice Paddick-Hoover informed the Leeuwin League Clubs of the plan and invited them to take part. Augusta, Cowaramup and Margaret River immediately put a plan into action. In the meantime the small committee was spreading the word around clubs in Dunsborough.
Permission from the Manager of the Country Club allowed a drop-off point to be established within the club. Bags immediately started to arrive and the three committee members then transferred them to spare rooms within their homes.
Two different art societies, the Dunsborough Yallingup Chamber of Commerce, sporting bodies like Croquet, Tennis, Golf, the Mahjong club, the Dunsborough Pharmacy, Corporate bowlers and even strangers on the beach started bringing in bags. The Leeuwin League bags were collected at a pennant match and the result was amazing.
All bags had to be delivered to the permanent collection point at Busselton by December 3rd. A small group of volunteers arranged all the bags to be sorted at the Country Club as extra bags and many individual items had been donated. Four cars took the bags to Busselton.
Over 160 bags were collected within two weeks. Already a target has been put in place for next year there is no doubt the same people and clubs will have over 200 bags donated for this worthy cause.
Janice Paddick-Hoover has suggested that other bowling clubs may like to participate. “It is no hardship for us to put together a lovely bag for a lady in our community” she said “ and if other bowling clubs get involved we can all make a small difference to someone in need”.
For more information about this charity project “It’s in the Bag” contact Janice Hoover e: janice@hoover.net.au
Photo: Representatives from clubs within the Leeuwin League: Augusta, Cowaramup, Dunsborough and Margaret River.
