The Royal Hotel was awash with pink for the fundraising night for Cuddlepie Early Childhood Learning Centre’s ‘Abbey Lane’, in memory of Abbey Stephen.
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The night far exceeded the expectations of organiser, Tahlara Osborne.
“It was really good. We had a great success. Bigger than what we ever imagined it was going to be – it was huge!” said Tahlara, who is the hotel’s nightclub manager.
More than $6000 was raised on the night, with donations still trickling in after the event, and raffle tickets still being sold for a raffle that will be drawn on Friday, March 23 at the Royal Hotel at 8pm.
Tahlara reports the nightclub was packed full.
“We were at capacity really early. So we had one in, one out,” she said.
“Everyone was in such good spirits, and everyone was digging deep into their pockets, and everybody was happy to donate and buy tickets and get behind it. Everybody was helping out.
Related reading: Manning Valley community rallies to aid Abbeys Lane
“t was really nice to see so many people in the community there. So many people showed up and wore their shirts and it was lovely,” Tahlara said.
“We are so, so happy.”
The shirts, with screen printing donated by Fab Art, were sold as part of the fundraising effort.
Abbey Lane is a project being undertaken by Cuddlepie Early Childhood Learning Centre in Wingham as a memorial for employee 19-year-old Abbey Stephen, who died following a head on collision on Old Bar Road on January 30, 2018.
Only a matter of weeks after the loss of their co-worker, the early childhood centre was broken into and a safe stolen. The safe contained a substantial amount of money the centre had fundraised to help them reach the $40,000 needed to construct the memorial laneway on their premises.
Raffle tickets are still being sold and can be purchased at the Royal Hotel, or at Tahlara’s Skin Care and Beauty at Shop 3, Manning Arcade in Manning Street, Taree.