Posted: 4/11/2016
As proud Alliance Partners of local not-for-profit organisation Wishlist, who are dedicated to raising funds for the Sunshine Coast Health and Hospital Service, we were excited to strengthen our relationship even more in 2016 by providing Platinum Sponsorship for the Melbourne Cup Charity Luncheon in November.
To date, Wishlist along with a very generous and committed Sunshine Coast community, have raised almost $180,000 over 7 years through Cup Day events and we set a goal to raise $20,000, taking overall proceeds to $200,000.
Together with Gold Sponsors BDO Sunshine Coast and Telstra Business we created a high-end Race Day event with great food, wine and entertainment and were delighted, and once again blown away by the generosity of the Sunshine Coast who helped us to raise over $51,000 for Wishlist! Funds raised on the day will go towards a specialised piece of equipment to help with the diagnosis and treatment of several types of cancer. The Endoscopic Ultrasound for Gastroenterology is a radial scope that helps assess cancer of the bile ducts, oesophagus and pancreas and means Sunshine Coast residents will no longer have to travel to Brisbane for this treatment.
To entertain our guests on the day, we put together a sporting panel hosted by dual sport Paralympian Michael Milton and featuring rugby legend Kerrod Walters, swimming sensation Duncan Armstrong, newly appointed Sunshine Coast Lightning coach Noeline Taurua and our local hero Aly Bull who had just returned from her first Olympics in Rio where she made the finals in the K2 event. John Lingard from TV’s The Voice provided the perfect music for the day.
Our guests were also given the opportunity to join the exclusive 300 Club which will provide networking opportunities throughout 2017, invitations to guest speaker breakfasts and also came with the chance to win either $100,000 cash or a Toyota Landcruiser Sahara (valued at $140,000) on the day.
We took this opportunity to partner with Siena College in Sippy Downs and engaged their Year 11 Hospitality students as volunteer wait staff for the day. The students assisted our professional wait staff by attending to our guests’ needs including ensuring their water glasses were never empty. As it was a hot day- this did not go unnoticed by our guests! Our event was used as an assessment piece and the students were graded on the service they provided. We got lots of compliments on the level of service provided- so I think it is safe to say they all passed!
Sunshine Toyota, together with BDO Sunshine Coast and Telstra Business were proud to be an integral part of this fundraising event, which will support our local charity Wishlist to continue providing quality health care that benefits families on the Sunshine Coast. We are overjoyed by the amount raised and proud of all the hard work that went into creating the event.