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The Goodies Arrive!
We did it! Thanks to your support and generosity the TBQA Christmas Cheer Project spread plenty of cheer to many families across Central and Western Queensland this week.
Altogether there were 250 hampers, accounting for over 500 children delivered on Tuesday.
On top of that, Stan Johnston and Steve Hawkins, through their network of contacts, were able to
* raise $17,000 for Longreach School Of Distance Education (LSDOE) to distribute accordingly * source 25 iPads for LSDOE students * Magic Millions donated a week-long holiday for a family recently affected by suicide * 150 Akubra hats were donated * Racing Queensland kindly paid for the fuel needed to deliver the goods.
It was an amazing achievement – all that occurred in just 13 days! The clock had been ticking from the get-go because the LSODE was hosting its end of year break up on December 2nd and it was really the only opportunity to distribute the hampers to the families, many of whom live on very isolated properties. So forget Santa and his sleigh – we had Stan and his Craiglea Convoy. After spending three days travelling from the Gold Coast to Cairns and back to the Sunshine Coast, Stan’s delivery team packed their trucks to head off – only to find there was too much weight for a gooseneck and four horse float, they needed to load up the three horse float as well! Stan’s mate, Jim Sterling had just arrived at that moment to deliver 14 iPads he had kindly donated and he offered to be the third driver, despite having only the clothes on his back for the three day round trip! With that problem solved, Stan, Jim and Danny Marr headed off for the two day drive to Longreach. After assisting Danny with his two blown tyres and running out of fuel, the trio reached their destination at 4pm Tuesday December 2nd, just in time for the concert. Steve Hawkins and Rob Luck addressed the 600-strong audience and explained the project and the response… “It was mind-boggling,” said Stan. “It was huge, the reception was outstanding. There were gasps of disbelief, they just couldn’t believe the help they were receiving or that people from the thoroughbred industry would be interested in their plight.” “Many families just broke down and cried, they were just standing in the car park crying,” recalled Stan. Stan is known throughout the racing industry for his various projects that help drought affected families, he’s motivated by their need for help. “You just don’t understand how bad it is out there until you’ve seen it yourself,” said Stan. “Many people can’t afford fuel to get to town, yet alone food to put on the table. They’ve had to destock and are struggling to keep the animals they have left alive.” Stan was thrilled to see the families so overjoyed by the hampers. For a lot of families these donated gifts are probably the only presents their children will receive. “It will really brighten their Christmas Day,” he said. “Not just that, but it will help them live a little better for a little while.” Stan left Longreach the next day and dropped more hampers to Charleville, while jockey Ray Hancock collected a number of hampers from Longreach and took them to families in the Mount Isa region. Stan remains humble about the role he has played in the project and is adamant that it was the TBQA who led the way. “I love doing this sort of thing because the farmers need help and it’s just great for our thoroughbred industry,” Stan stated. “We have a huge industry and we should get involved in more community events to lift our profile. The racing industry needs this type of positivity. We are always criticised, yet look at what we’ve achieved and the people we have helped. Our industry needs to get involved in things like this, we have the personnel and ability to do it.”
