Gallery owner Susie Porter she said and husband Darryl and their manager/son Alister were delighted with the public response to Cocktails for Cancer.

“It was a wonderful night, people were very kind and generous, especially our staff,” she said.

Mrs Porter said she previously hosted cocktail evenings at her home but wanted to hold a similar function, on a much larger scale, after taking over the nightclub.

She said Peter’s Project was a cause close to her heart as her cousin Helen Keegan, from Warrong, had survived liver and bowel cancer.

“We had a $20 entry fee. We also took donations from people who couldn’t attend and held raffles. We auctioned larger items including a framed Collingwood jumper from Sam Dwyer and a Hawthorn jumper from Jordan Lewis,” she said.

“There was a round of golf for four people at the members-only club Kingston Heath and a trip to Queensland. We tried to package things up to make them more attractive and I have to thank all the people who supported that side of the night. 

“About 300 people attended in both the bottom bars at the Gallery.”

Mrs Porter said the great cause created a “super-positive vibe” in the nightclub.

“People wanted to come and spend their money and make donations. There was a wide range of people, a very different mix.

“I had one lady who rang after she heard an ad while on her tractor ... There was a lot of people like that who just wanted to be involved.

“Cancer affects everyone and people wanted to be part of it,” she said.

athomson@fairfaxmedia.com.au