In this instance the social club ‘s regular Friday evening “meetings’’, along with monthly events away from the Hare St hotel, supported Echuca Regional Health’s Cancer and Wellness Centre.
The 50-strong social club made a $2110 donation to the ERH facility, fundraised from their monthly social event and also from the regular Friday night raffles.
Echuca-Moama’s health network is not the only group to have benefited from the social club’s generosity; a defibrillator hanging on the wall alongside the TAB televisions at the hotel further evidence of its work.
Ms Byron, who is the club’s “social co-ordinator“, said the group was proud of what it had been able to achieve through the Friday night raffle and monthly travels.
“I think it is important for the people who regularly support our raffle ticket sales to know what is happening with their contribution.
“We enjoy what we do and being able to do something great for a community group just makes it all that more enjoyable,” Ms Byron said.
The weekly Friday meetings, and monthly social functions, are responsible for thousands of dollars being generated in the 16-year history of the social club.
“Apart from selling tickets we will go to a winery, or bus trip somewhere, to raise money.
"It was only a few months ago that we bought the defibrillator (worth $2000) for the hotel.
“Not that we want to use it, but you just have to look at the age group to know having it there is a good idea,” Ms Byron said.
She explained that the social club had “gone quiet for a little while”, but its resurgence had been almost a decade in duration.
Social clubs have always been a part of hotels, but at the Caledonian it is much more than that if you factor in the enthusiasm of its members.
"We do a big Christmas raffle and generally we make a few hundred dollars each week. Once we have a suitable amount to offer we decide who we give it to,“ Ms Byron said.
The club meetings are at 5.30pm, or 5pm for some of the guys, on a Friday and attract not only singles, but also families, husbands and their wives.
She said the barefoot bowls event at Echuca Bowls Club was one of the club’s favourites, along with the harness racing evening.
“We will be going to the trots on May 29,” Ms Byron said.
Next on the agenda for the social club is the support of a girl who is shaving her hair to be supplied as a wig for a sick child.
"We’ve fundraised for homeless people, men’s and women’s health, the pink ladies, and the children’s hospital
"We even helped out with the hay that was taken to Australia’s drought-affected areas,“ she said.
Every month there is a beneficiary of the club’s weekly activity, with Ms Byron saying the Caledonian was open to approaches from the public.
