THE Port Fairy Folk Festival committee will donate $30,000 to Peter’s Project.
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Festival president Bruce Leishman confirmed the commitment this week and said the donation was possible thanks to the event’s hard-working volunteers.
“We were approached by Peter’s Project and I took the initial approach to the committee,” Mr Leishman said.
“It was hard, I think, for Peter’s Project to know how much to ask us for but being a prominent charity recipient in the area we decided to give them $30,000 over two or three years.”
Peter’s Project founder Vicki Jellie said she was extremely grateful to the folk festival and the Port Fairy community.
“We were very very pleased and grateful to them for supporting us,” Ms Jellie said.
She said Peter’s Project was a regional appeal and a cancer centre in Warrnambool would benefit Port Fairy residents.
“It’s moving ahead. People are coming on board because the cancer centre is going to belong to our community and sadly we will all know someone who is going to use it,” Ms Jellie said.
“If someone in Port Fairy has cancer they can drive 20 minutes for treatment and come home to their own bed.”
Mr Leishman said the folk festival allocated more than $200,000 each year in grants and Peter’s Project was a worthy recipient.
He said the festival would allocate $15,000 to the appeal this year and another $15,000 in 12 months.
Mr Leishman said the festival would be open to offering further financial support in future.
Ms Jellie said Peter’s Project was well on its way to raising $5 million in 12 months.
“It’s going really well. There’s $1.25 million in the bank and that’s only really about nine, 10 weeks since our launch — that’s $425,000 since the launch,” she said.
Mr Leishman said ticket sales for the Port Fairy Folk Festival were extremely strong even before the line-up of artists has been announced.