Cobar’s Tour de OROC dinner at the Cobar Bowling & Golf Club last Wednesday night.
The Tour de OROC peloton of 38 riders, who were fundraising for the Macquarie Home Stay accommodation facility in Dubbo, received a warm welcome to Cobar last Wednesday and left with their pockets considerably heavier.
The Cobar community has been generous and got behind the fundraiser with Aurelia Metals/Peak Gold Mine and MAC Copper CSA Mine both donating $10,000.
The Rotary Club of Cobar presented a $1,000 donation to Tour de OROC chairman Ben O’Brien and the Cobar Bowling & Golf Club also donated $500 (in addition to an in-kind donation of the use of the facilities and the meals for the riders).
Another $3,000 donation came from Copper City Tyre Service, SDS and the Rogers Family/Kulwin Pastoral following Chris Deighton and Daniel Pagett’s Rodeo ride challenge.
Among this year’s peloton, Cobar had two local riders with Trudy Griffiths (who has ridden in two previous Tour de OROC events and this year joined the peloton to ride the final two days from Bourke to Coonamble) and Claudine Griffiths, who completed the entire 800km+ ride.
Both have also made significant contributions to this year’s fundraising effort.
Trudy had a goal of raising $10,000 and as of yesterday had reached $12,936 while Claudine had a goal of $5,000 which she also exceeded and raised $6,372.
During last week’s dinner, riders and dinner guests heard from two speakers, Cobar residents, Sandra Davey and Rana Manns, who have both stayed at the Macquarie Home Stay facility.
Sandra said Macquarie Home Stay had been a lifesaver for her through two long bouts of medical treatment and that the staff and volunteers at Macquarie Home Stay had become “like an extended community” for her.
Rana said Macquarie Home Stay had offered her convenience and security, it was well located for her husband’s medical treatments and it gave her a chance to mix with others, especially when things got tough.
The dinner’s emcee, Mathew Dickerson, a Dubbo businessman, former Dubbo City Council Mayor, Rotary Club of Dubbo South member and the creator of the Tour de OROC fundraiser, said Sandra and Rana’s personal accounts of their time at Macquarie Home Stay gave riders a valuable insight into how important the facility is to many rural families.
