Red Cross annual Mother’s Day raffle supported by community

The Narrabri Red Cross Branch’s annual Mother’s Day raffle garnered another winning round of support from the community, with $800 worth of donations collected.

Rain or shine, president Max Pringle and vice president Kath Davis always hold the lucky draw from their well-known booth on Maitland Street, where passers-by get their tickets as early as 8am, on their way to work.

“We like setting up outside MJ’s Newsagency,” said Mrs Davis.

“They are always so good to us, so we normally pick this spot for our raffles.”

“We’ve been doing these for as long as I can remember, and they play an important part in our fundraising efforts.”

This time the raffle ran for five weeks before being drawn on Thursday and Mr Pringle considered it a great success.

As with all raffle donations, they went straight into the Red Cross fund for those in need.

Mrs Davis recently received her 20-year medal for service to the Narrabri branch, which she joined after retiring from the workforce to continue her ongoing passion for helping those in need.

“The money that we collect from our fundraisers goes towards helping people in distress or emergencies, locally and around the world,” said Mrs Davis.

“Whether that be from fires, flooding, earthquakes, or other disasters, the Red Cross is here to assist and provide those emergency services in the community.

“Recently we donated to Lismore during the Queensland floods and when there are international efforts such as in Ukraine, we will send our resources overseas,” said Mrs Davis.

Among this year’s raffle prizes donated by Red Cross members and friends, was a framed floral embroidery made by Sally Alexander, who passed away more than year ago.

A diamond art piece of an owl was also donated by Lyn Tuckey, and Claire Black put together a lovely, knitted package with a snuggly red, green and yellow rug.

If you search for the Red Cross mission statement on their website, it states: “The Red Cross mobilises the power of humanity to bring people and communities together in times of need and builds on community strengths to achieve the following outcomes.”

Whatever help needed, be it for homelessness, natural disasters, relocation, or legal aid, the Red Cross does not differentiate a cry for help.

“I am a great believer in helping people in an emergency, whatever it may be,” said Mrs Davis.

“Max and I have been presidents for a long time, and we’re both very passionate about helping the people and the community as much as we can.”

With a dozen members now, the Narrabri Red Cross hopes that the younger generation will get involved.

“We are getting older now, and we would love to have more young people onboard to help us out,” said Mrs Davis.

“Community involvement is so crucial, you’re not an island, being a part of this earth means being a part of this earth to help people.”