EVENTS
2007 Sydney Fundraising Dinner
Another Very Special Night – Magnificent!!!
Yalari's second major fundraising dinner happened in March and all in all was a stunning success.
Held this year at Paddington's Town Hall in Sydney in the middle of a major heat wave it was quite a night. We were actually turning people away this year having reached our extended capacity of 400 people some weeks before the deadline. The Sangria and beer flowed in the foyer as guests mingled and perused the vast array of auction items.
The main dining hall looked quite wonderful with Indigenous patterns beamed through the lighting and circulating around the walls. With the background beat of funky didgeridoo music, great table decorations, gorgeous volunteers and staff in Yalari t-shirts, the evening was set off by an enthusiastic mix of guests and performers. There was a real buzz in the air.
This year we were catered for by Silver Spoon Catering who really excelled themselves. Petaluma generously provided the wines and the Riesling went down particularly well in such steamy temperatures.
This year we were honoured with the presence of Her Excellency the Governor of NSW Prof. Marie Bashir who gave a rousing speech.
The Bangarra Dancers dazzled us with a pas de deux called 'Moth'.
Miss Deborah Cheetham, backed by a quintet made up from the Australian Chamber Orchestra, sang a trio of sublime arias and knocked everyone's socks off. Key Note Speaker Dr Kelvin Kong gave an inspiring and very moving account of his early years and how he came to be the first Indigenous surgeon in this country. Both Waverley and Phil gave updates of Yalari's progress to date. The whole night was tied together by the wit and talent of our MC Adam Spencer. We are phenomenally lucky to have his ongoing involvement. Adam has a wonderful rapport with our auctioneer Paul Sumner and together they helped us to raise a grand total of $215,000. A really incredible result.
This year we welcomed the inclusion of some of the Yalari scholarship children who were fortunate enough to be able to attend the dinner. Kyol Blakeney and Janus Walford from The Scots College, Mitchell Whiteley and Cyril Johnson from St Ignatius College, Bevan Walker from The Armidale School and Emma Pope from The Glennie School. They delighted the guests with their presence and with their charm as they happily circulated and did a great job of introducing themselves about the room. It was also a thrill to have such special guests as Evonne Goolagong-Cawley and Ian Thorpe.
I'd like to say a special thank you to all of our sponsors and to all those who put up their hand to help in some way and especially to our Yalari Dinner committee, Michelle Belgiorno-Nettis, Victoria Biggs, Martina Duetz, Krista Horbatiuk, Kristina Karasulas, Sandy Short, Jennifer Stuckey-Clarke, Melanie Spencer and Sandrine Vinay.
On another note, I was very happy to be able to make a trip to Rockhampton some weeks ago with Waverley and Llew. Here I met one of our Yalari students, Brenton Cressbrook who enthusiastically showed me around his new school. Rockhampton Grammar School is a co-ed boarding school in a wonderful old building in a great setting. Brenton, who is twelve, loves his school life and gave me all the history and information on the school as though he had been in attendance for years, not just a few months. Brenton is a charming and popular young man and fully appreciates his life at Rockhampton Grammar.
It was very reassuring to see, on a personal level, how worthwhile and enriching the opportunities that Yalari is providing are.
Fiona Latham,
Event Director
