The small community of Nullawarre will come together on Friday to shine a light on the darkness of cancer.
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For the first time the town is hosting a Light The Night event, a Leukaemia Foundation fund-raiser that helps support families touched by blood cancer.
Nullawarre Township Committee president Lenora Jenkins hoped the event would be an uplifting experience.
“We’ve had a few local families who have been touched by blood cancer or a related disease and the Leukaemia Foundation was there for them,” she said.
“We really wanted to hold an event which is not only for a great cause, but one that gets the community together for a good time.
“We’re a close-knit community and we’re very good at rallying together in times of need, but rarely do we gather for a positive reason.
“To host this event and raise funds for a worthy cause is a pleasure for the Township Committee, which is normally concerned with planning issues within the town such as potholes and the streetscape.”
Nullawarre and District Primary School will host the event, which will begin at 6.30pm with family-friendly activities such as face-painting, pony rides, an animal farm, static displays from the CFA and a local sprintcar team, as well as a barbecue dinner.
A walk with coloured lanterns, which will be available to buy on the night, will begin at 8pm. A gold lantern signifies remembering someone, a white lantern symbolises someone’s own journey and a blue lantern shows they care.
“When we approached the Nullawarre and District Primary School about hosting the event they were thrilled about the idea and have arranged a performance from the choir and also a short film festival which the students have produced,” Ms Jenkins said.
“As well as being an uplifting event, the money we raise will enable the Leukaemia Foundation to keep helping families in need.”
A Light The Night walk will also be held at the Warrnambool Showgrounds on October 31.
The event begins at 6pm with food and entertainment and the lantern-lighting ceremony and walk will start at 7.15pm.
The south-west walks will be among about 100 Light The Night events being held across the country.
The Leukaemia Foundation hopes to raise $1.5 million through its Light the Night fund-raiser nationally this year.