Stars of the west shine for the homeless

Stars will be shining brightly in Western Sydney this Friday, 24 March, at the much anticipated annual ‘Celebrate the West’ fundraiser for the San Miguel Family Centre.

Held at WatervieW in Bicentennial Park, the Celebrate the West event will honour a new group of champions from Western Sydney who have excelled in their field, with monies raised going to the well-known yourtown family homelessness accommodation service in North Richmond.

This year's champions are Casey Donovan (extraordinary singer and musician and recent winner of Channel 10’s ‘I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!’), Dr Charles ‘Charlie’ Teo (Director of Sydney’s Centre for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery), Peter Anderson (civic leader), Peter Higgins (Sydney Polo Club and Mortgage Choice owner) and Gerry Harvey (executive chairman of Harvey Norman).

The 2017 Jack Gibson Award will be presented to Peter Summers in recognition of his ongoing contribution to the San Miguel Family Centre.

Hosted by Bryan Brown, this fabulous event includes entertainment by Hunters and Collectors’ Mark Seymour, gourmet food and auction items, with the irrepressible Vince Sorrenti as auctioneer.

This year’s auction items include a stunning array of luxury and unique experiences, including an exceptionally unique day observing Dr Charlie Teo’s extraordinary surgical techniques and work with his patients, an intimate Dinner for Eight with Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward, a 18ct white gold diamond and yellow topaz pendant, and for footy fans, dinner with the likes of Wests Tigers captain Aaron Woods and Parramatta Eels captain Tim Mannah, and lots more!

yourtown CEO Tracy Adams says the event is an opportunity to recognise the success of local heroes while giving to a great cause - the wellbeing of families experiencing homelessness.

“Celebrate the West gives our champions a chance to share their stories and inspire others to strive for excellence,” she said.

“It’s also a great opportunity to help families who are doing it tough. It is estimated that 50% of people using homelessness services in Australia are families, with 26% of these having children.

“Demand on all homelessness and other associated refuge services is often beyond capacity. San Miguel is nearly always at 100% occupancy.

“For 34 years, the San Miguel Family Centre has been providing not just temporary accommodation for parents and children but also counselling and guidance to help families tackle the issues creating homelessness.

“The majority of San Miguel’s funding comes from the community. We thank those attending the Celebrate the West function and our other community supporters whose support is crucial to continuing this vital service.”

Funds raised from this year’s Celebrate the West event will go towards the provision of an Expressive Therapy program for children in a new purpose-built room at ‘Jack’s Place’ at the centre. ‘Jacks Place’ was renovated with funds raised at last year’s Celebrate the West event. For more information about the event see www.yourtown.com.au/celebratethewest

-ENDS-

INTERVIEW/PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES 

Brendan Bourke, yourtown Head of Client Services

Others at the event

Event photographs available on request

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Regan Flor  [email protected]  07 3867 1395/0423 843 786

Tracey Gillinder  [email protected]  07 3867 1248/0434 077 478