White Ribbon fundraiser delayed

Organisers Mark Howard, Michael Wright, Anne McCormick and Paige Kristalyn are looking forward to being a part of the event once restrictions have eased more. Pic: STEWART CHAMBERS 243350_01

By Gabriella Payne

The Cardinia Shire Council announced that their highly anticipated White Ribbon Day fundraiser and awards ceremony would be postponed this week, due to ongoing Covid restrictions.

The event, which was set to be held on Thursday 29 July at the Cardinia Cultural Centre, was set to be an informative and important day for the community to come together and advocate for an end to domestic and family violence.

However after Melbourne’s snap 12 day lockdown threw a spanner in the works, organisers made the difficult decision to postpone the fundraiser and ceremony this week, in the hopes that a bigger and better event can be held once the situation has settled down a bit.

A spokesperson from the Cardinia Shire Council said that the decision had been made due to a number of factors, but they believed it would be worth the wait.

“Due to a combination of current restrictions and a belief that the event is best delivered face to face, a decision has been made by the committee to postpone this event until later in the year,” the spokesperson said.

The new date for the event is yet to be confirmed, but it’s hoped that this year’s special guest speaker, AFL legend, former federal MP and the White Ribbon Australia ambassador Phil Cleary, will still be there to talk to locals about his own experiences of family violence.

A few of the event organisers and passionate advocates for the prevention of family violence, Mark Howard, Michael Wright, Anne McCormick and Paige Kristalyn told the Gazette that they were still looking forward to the fundraising event and hoped it would help make a change in the community for the better.