Beanies donated by volunteers for Reclaim the Night on October 25, 2018

The beanies will be handed out at the Reclaim the Night March event on October 25. 

The event supports the right for all people to feel safe at night and starts at the Port Macquarie Glasshouse forecourt from 6pm.

The generous gift was presented to Domestic Violence Prevention educators Renee Bell and Tia Bailey at the volunteers’ annual general meeting.

Ms Bell thanked the women for their beautiful knitted and crocheted creations, which will be given to people who take part in the march and make a donation.

It’s not the first time the volunteers have gifted beanies to the march organisers, who expressed their gratitude following a talk about domestic violence prevention programs underway in the Hastings.

The annual general meeting also saw the election of an executive committee for the 2018-19 year with Carol Smith unanimously returned as president, Steph Wright and Jen Lucey as vice presidents, Alayne Menzies as secretary, Jo Thorpe as treasurer and Karen Holland as raffle coordinator and welfare officer. Elva Emberton is the branch’s patron.

Among the milestones celebrated during the president’s report was the $7406.91 donated in support of patients and clients at the Camden Haven Community Health Centre in Laurieton and the Surgical Unit at Port Macquarie Base Hospital.

Mid North Coast Local Health District’s corporate relations manager Sharon Fuller, who attended the meeting, thanked the volunteers for their hard work and support.

“Thank you isn’t sufficient but from the bottom of our hearts, we are so very grateful for the support you provide to our patients and our staff,” she said. 

Among the items donated by the branch were patient chairs for the Community Health Centre in Laurieton, as well as medical equipment, such as blood pressure monitors, for the hospital’s surgical ward.