Community
25 July, 2025
Health boost for region from appeal
THE generosity and efforts of communities across the district during this year’s Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal were recognised during a special event in Warrnambool this week.
In a show of gratitude, the RCH Good Friday Appeal Team paid a visit to Warrnambool on Wednesday night to thank volunteers and the community for their donations and hard work.
Once again the annual appeal saw locals and visitors to the region dig deep, despite many going through financial hardship as a reflection of drought conditions and cost of living.
In Warrnambool alone, almost $100,000 was donated while in nearby Koroit residents donated a further $9,584.
The final tally for 2025 also showed a further $27,131 from Port Fairy and almost $49,000 from Garvoc.
At The Flying Horse on Wednesday night, executive director of the Good Friday Appeal Rebecca Cowan thanked the many volunteers who had “worked tirelessly” over the past 12 months to raise money for the appeal.
“The amount raised in this region alone was just incredible,” Ms Cowan said.
“We know times are tough right now yet people still dig deep and give what they can and every donation, big and small, is certainly well appreciated and well utilised.
“This year’s record-breaking $23,822,792 brought the total raised since 1931 to more than $492 million.”
Ms Cowan said her team was also excited to announce that a record $3 million would be invested into 41 regional health services across Victoria and Southern New South Wales (including Barwon Health); delivering urgently needed paediatric care improvements to children and families in rural and remote areas.
“This investment reflects our deep commitment to regional families,” Ms Cowan said.
“The Royal Children’s Hospital will always be there for the most complex cases, but with this funding we’re helping ensure more children can access the care they need, closer to home.
“It’s a testament to the incredible generosity of Victorians.”
Barwon South West (which includes South West Healthcare) has been allocated $600,000.
Along with advanced education access for staff, these funds will also enable the purchase of life-saving equipment such as neonatal cots, jaundice screening devices and portable pain relief machines.
A dedicated Service Improvement Lead will also be employed to implement best-practice models of care in paediatric diabetes, Hospital in the Home, and outpatient services.
According to president of Kiwanis of Warrnambool, Peter Sanderson, this year’s appeal was once again a “wonderful community effort.”
“We are extremely proud of the amount we raised across our region this year, which even surpassed last year’s tally which is amazing given the current financial strain many people are going through,” Mr Sanderson said.
“Fire brigades across the district united in their efforts, along with FRV and the SES.
“We (the Kiwanis club) have 32 members and many of them were again involved with collecting donation tins from various locations and businesses across Warrnambool as has been the case for many years.”
