By Parker McKenzie
A four-bedroom house in Officer has sold for a record $821,000 in the Home for a Cure auction, raising $221,000 for the My Room Children’s Cancer Charity.
Blesson and Reena Varghese outbid 19 other parties in the online auction and will move into the house with their two children after returning to Australia from overseas.
Blesson said the couple changed their mind about renting a property after discovering the charity auction.
“We previously lived in Clyde North, about 15 minutes from Officer, so we knew the area quite well,” Blesson said.
“Officer and Arcadia stood out as an upcoming suburb and community.”
The auction is a part of a major fundraising campaign for the charity alongside Channel Nine’s annual Footy Show Grand Final Eve My room Telethon.
My Room chief executive Margaret Zita congratulated the Varghese family and said the record result wouldn’t have been possible without the charities partners at Satterley Property Group, Porter Davis and Nine.
“The auction result is beyond our expectations and the proceeds will help the work we do and that we raise funds for,” Zita said.
“Our services help families affected by childhood cancer directly and we also contribute a large proportion of our raised money to the kind of research and trials that lead to better treatments, better therapies and a better chance at cures.”
The house was built by Porter Davis, and is located in Saterley’s Arcadia Estate.
Satterley’s general manager Jack Hoffman said it was a shame the auction couldn’t be conducted in front of the home, however the result was still outstanding.
“It’s easily broken the price record for charity auctions we’ve been involved with,” Hoffman said.
“A huge amount of credit needs to go to Porter Davis for building such a wonderful home and presenting it so beautifully.”
The fundraising campaign has raised more than $3.3 million dollars in donations this year, including $600,000 pledged by My Room partners Satterley and Porter Davis.
