On 26 July, we officially opened the Restoring Hope Community Hub! What a wonderful celebration of community, generosity, and hope.
Our fantastic MCs, Nathan Williams and Arthur Dugdale guided the event while inspiring speeches from Board members and speech pathologists Louise Williams and Karen Malcolm, together with Arthur’s engaging personal reflection, highlighted the vision and purpose behind all we do at Restoring Hope Parkinson’s Therapy.
We were honoured to welcome Andrew Wallace MP for his address and for cutting the ribbon to signify the official opening of our building.
We also took some time to acknowledge and thank the many tradespeople and businesses who generously contributed to the renovation of the Restoring Hope Community Hub. Special mention went to Michael Farrier of Sparkies Plus, named as our Tradesperson of the Year due to his immense generosity and advocacy throughout the entire renovation.
Auctioneer extraordinaire Chaffey Backhouse led another lively Benevolent Bear auction which included a surprise third bear from bear artist Lorraine Dippelsmann to commemorate the Grand Opening, aptly named ‘Chaffey’. Guests were also invited to bid on a unique joy ride in a Ford Model T. Thanks to our generous bidders, the auctions raised nearly $3,000 for RHPT!
Our wonderful Choir of Sound INTENT then treated the audience to three songs before Gail Nimmo and Lisa Beckey cut the beautiful celebration cake kindly donated by Sundale.
Thank you to our many volunteers who helped with all the set up, running of the event and pack down. Thanks to Anne Grant and her team for the afternoon tea, the Blackall Range Lions Club for overseeing the barbecue and the Bartholomew family for generously operating their coffee cart.
And thank you to everyone who came along and celebrated this Grand Opening with us. The day was a testament that this space is more than just a building but a place of hope, connection and belonging for people living with Parkinson’s and their families.
