Generous City of Heidelberg donation tops up Helping Hand Fund
Donations continue to roll in to Bowls Australia’s (BA) Helping Hand Fund, an initiative developed to support clubs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To date, $8864 has been donated to the fund, with one club from Melbourne’s north-east contributing a generous $3000 to the current total.
City of Heidelberg Bowling Club made the call to donate the significant amount given their ‘fortunate’ position of being able to manage during the pandemic so far.
City of Heidelberg board of management secretary John Starmans said it seemed like ‘the right thing to do’.
“We have been pretty fortunate. We are an old established club, with two synthetic greens and relatively minimal expenses,” he said.
“Our fee to Bowls Victoria was reduced significantly, and considering we had already budgeted for the full amount we decided to put the extra money to good use.
“When we saw the appeal we thought it would be a great way to help clubs who might be struggling.”
Morwell Club Bowls Club became the first beneficiary of the Helping Hand Fund last week.
Mr Starmans said he hopes to see more members of the bowls community contribute to the fund to help fellow bowlers in need.
“I think the fund is a pretty great idea.
“There would be clubs who have been hit pretty hard and some like ours that haven’t been. It’s a chance to make a real impact.”
Donations to the Helping Hand campaign are tax-deductible and BA are calling on all levels of the bowls community to show support to clubs in times of need.
