Following the successful staging of the drama show “Ma-Lan-Hua” in October 1991, towards the end of the year, our Society resumed work to raise funds for EACH’s Croydon Elderly Hostel Project. It decided to organise a fundraising walk, a model commonly used in the mainstream Australia.
Hosting a charity walk involved a lot of organising work. The route and venues required permission by certain authorities; maps had to be prepared to show details of the route for distribution to participants and seeking copyright from the publisher was essential.
Approval from the police department was required for the public roads covered by the route, especially for those areas having traffic lights where police would need to make special arrangements. As the starting and the finishing of the Walk were both set at the Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour, approval was needed from the respective management authorities, including the use of the open-air stage, the underground dressing room, the microphones and sound systems on the stage, etc. As the route would pass through the Royal Botanical Garden, approval was also required to be sought. Since it was a charity event, the venue fee was exempted but fees would be payable for the use of facilities.
Arrangements for the venue during the event also required careful planning, including registration desks, management of starting and finishing points, checkpoints along the route, tents for each checkpoint, tables and chairs, etc. Volunteers were needed to man the checkpoints. Water and snacks would have to be provided for the volunteers, and these supplies had to be bought beforehand and transported to the respective venues. A communication centre would have to be set up to provide support to the various venues.
To make the event more interesting, warm-up exercises were organised at the starting point, and cultural performances were arranged at the finishing point after the Walk. A lucky draw was also held.
During the planning, it was discovered that marshals would be needed along the route to assist participants with enquiries. With one marshal every 250m, the 10km route would require 40 marshals.
A significant amount of planning and preparation work was involved, requiring a lot of manpower resources. Promotion work in the community was crucial to attract as many as possible people in the community to participate. After detailed planning, there was realization that at least 100 volunteers would be required. The total number of Society members and directors who could help was only about 30 to 40 people. Where could the large number of volunteers be found?
The main sponsor of the event, Po Hong Group of Companies, which had been sponsoring various soccer teams of the Chinese students’ associations of universities and TAFE, initiated contacts with these associations and invited their members to volunteer. The response was very good. Each of the 10 plus students’ associations sent about 7 to 8 students. Members of the newly established Way In Network also volunteered for the event. With over 100 volunteers recruited, the problem was solved.
At that time, the company that Henry was employed was undergoing restructuring and he was awaiting job assignment. This gave him the time and opportunity to get involved in the preparation work of the charity walk, including contacts with various parties, organising meetings, preparing the souvenir program and designing the logo, etc.
🤔 How did the Dragon Charity Walk go? How much was raised? There is more to share in the next article!