GRV acting Chair Peita Duncan joined Craig Hutchison and Liam Pickering on Off the Bench radio this morning to present a cheque for $16,640 to Ronald McDonald House Charities CEO Peter Bishop.
GRV sponsors Chase for Charity and, each week for the past 30 weeks, three Crocmedia identities placed $500 worth of bets on greyhound races across Australia, courtesy of GRV, with all winnings donated to charity.
This year’s chosen charities were Carrie’s Beanies for Brain Cancer (CB4BC); Victorian Men’s Shed Association and Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Hutchy was the winner this year, raising $16,640 for Ronald McDonald House; followed by Liam Pickering, raising $14,840 for Victorian Men’s Shed Association, while Dr Turf was third, raising $8,124 for Carrie’s Beanies for Brain Cancer.
Chase for Charity began in 2017 and has raised almost $120,000 for our wonderful charities.
Ms Duncan, who was accompanied in the studio by her pet greyhound, Blue, said greyhound racing communities were renowned for supporting families in times of need and for being active members of their local communities, always ready to step up for others.
“GRV and our clubs are strong supporters of many charities across Victoria and this year’s Chase for Charity recipients are all worthy of our support,” Ms Duncan said.
Ms Duncan also announced on air that the Uren family would be invited as guests of GRV to the TAB Melbourne Cup at Sandown on November 29 and the Melbourne Cup Lunch at Crown the day before.
The Uren family, from Derrinallum in Victoria’s west, has spent 99 days at Ronald McDonald House since February after Max was diagnosed with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.
Ronald McDonald House keeps the families of seriously ill children together and close to the care their child needs, which in Max’s case, has been the Royal Children’s Hospital.
“It gladdens my heart when we can help people going through a rough patch,” Ms Duncan said.
“Last weekend GRV CEO Alan Clayton presented 17-year-old Max Uren with a family pass to the AFL Grand Final.
“And now I want Max and his family to come along and experience one of the great nights of greyhound racing in Australia.”
Mr Bishop said the donation would go towards helping the families which Ronald McDonald House supports, most of which are based in regional Victoria.
“This certainly will help our families. We’ve got three house across Melbourne with 75+ rooms, and our facilities have got to be up to scratch for our families. We’ve got to keep renovating so this money will go towards that,” Mr Bishop said.
2019 CHASE FOR CHARITY – FINAL STANDINGS
1st RONALD McDONALD HOUSE (Craig Hutchison) – $16,640
2nd VICTORIAN MEN’S SHED ASSOCIATION (Liam Pickering) – $14,840
3rd CARRIE’S BEANIE’S FOR BRAIN CANCER (Dr Turf) – $8,124
