Pink Stumps Day returned to Spotswood CC in style, with our sold-out lunch featuring colour, inspiration and fun on the way to blasting away our fundraising target for the McGrath Foundation, with our eventual donation to them a whopping $3,295!

Up to 120 guests piled in on the day and were welcomed by an archway of bright pink balloons and very different looking clubrooms than our usual summer Saturdays. Across the afternoon, they enjoyed lunch, desserts, and a fascinating interview with our guest speaker Clare Cannon in conversation with MC and club member Tony Schibeci.

 

The charity auction and raffle then got to the heart of the reason for coming together, and together raised a phenomenal amount of money – way beyond even our most ambitious hopes. The fabulous “fight like a girl” painting by Mel Ramsbottom, a pink wicketkeeping glove worn and signed by Adam Gilchrist, a 5-star resort holiday to Thailand and many wonderful prints of iconic images were among the items keeping our auctioneer (none other than President, Peter Young) busy. The raffle, featuring donated prizes from a huge number of generous local businesses and individuals, including Spotswood Cricket Club players, was a great hit with the crowd too. We’d like to extend a huge thankyou to them all our prize donors – see our list below.

 

Rumour has it they had to send out for more Prosecco as the event wore on… And once the music started, it was on for old and young, with the afternoon turning into an impromptu karaoke session and our singer Kat getting most of the room up on their feet or at least tapping their toes.

An event this successful doesn’t just happen by magic – there are a lot of people to thank. 

Huge thanks to Melissa Ramsbottom, not only for donating a painting and hand-made framed inspirational quotes for the auctions, but also for taking photos throughout the day to capture the event, as she so often has this year.

Social member Margret Dawson once again approached local businesses seeking their support with raffle prize donations, and her persistence and commitment to the task was invaluable  not to mention her fabulous potato salad which received rave reviews from the guests.

Special mention to Deb Barnes and Arianne Spratt for their scrumptious brownies and pink meringues which adorned the lovely dessert towers.

We couldn’t have done it all without co-organiser Sarah Grouios, whose wonderful styling and decorating of the room, and running of the raffle on the day made such a difference.

Final thanks must go to our Vice President, Simon Barnes, who drove the whole event, including making the commitment to McGrath Foundation, setting up and coordinating ticket bookings, bringing the right people into the mix, making sure everyone was fed and “watered”, and much much more.

Til next year then! In the meantime, check out our photo gallery below. If anyone else took photos on the day they are willing for us to share here and on Facebook, please send them to us.

Many thanks to all our generous raffle prize donors below!

Businesses / groups:

Little Bulla Salon, Spotswood
Newport Cellars, Newport
Two Birds Brewery, Spotswood
Terry White Pharmacy Spotswood
Sandra Christakakis, from Pink Butterflies
Priceline Pharmacy, Williamstown
Spottiswoode Hotel, Spotswood
Dukkah Restaurant, South Kingsville
Victoria Hotel, Yarraville
Doyle & Sons Café, Spotswood
Motorino Restaurant, South Kingsville
Mabel & Woods Boutique, Spotswood
Love It, Williamstown
Lux Living, Spotswood
Bunch of Cakes, Spotswood
Candied Bakery, Spotswood
Chase’ Kitchen, Spotswood
Hudsons Road Wine Bar, Spotswood
Rockafella Barbers, Spotswood
Spotswood Kingsville RSL
Angel Nails, Spotswood
Al Nada Bakery, Spotswood
Just Sausage Rolls @ Spotswood RSL

Individuals:

Sharon Schwarz
Karen Minnett
Ian Rickman
Gordon Mutch
Players from Spotswood CC 1^st XI and 2^nd XI teams

Photos from the day – with thanks to Melissa Ramsbottom