Strong appetite for Brightwater giving appeal

Brightwater Care Group held its annual fundraiser at Crown Towers last Friday, with about 1,000 guests raising $230,000 for the organisation’s work in the community.

This year’s Perth's Longest Lunch was the group’s third, with the numbers of guests attending the six-hour event up almost 100 per cent since the first lunch in 2015.

Brightwater chief executive Jennifer Lawrence said she was thrilled with the way corporate Perth had embraced the event.

“We know that there are guests who arrive in the room knowing very little about Brightwater and the work we do,” Ms Lawrence said. 

“But they leave with a very clear understanding that we strive to do things differently, creating opportunities and delighting people in all kinds of ways.”

Commonwealth Bank and PSC Insurance Brokers were among the local business supporters with the largest tables.  

Donations raised from last week’s event will enable Brightwater to fund and deliver specialist programs in aged care and for people living with neurological disabilities, including its dedicated music programs.

In addition to being treated to a six-course meal and some top Western Australian wines, guests were introduced via video link to one of Brightwater’s clients, Gaysie Wilson.

Ms Wilson is an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s who has been involved with Brightwater’s music program at its Inglewood site, with the video provided attendees with insight into how the group can use music to make a difference.

“I wish to thank each and every one who donated to our Life’s Possibilities Fund, which we’ll use to run dedicated music programs across our sites,” Ms Lawrence said.

“The generosity on the day and the energy in the room was palpable.”

Auction items on the day included a Mediterranean cruise with Silversea, a Helloworld Mount Everest Climb and a winemaking class at Sandalford wines, with an Audi up for grabs as the raffle prize.

More than 5,500 individual dishes were prepared during the course of the afternoon.

The beetroot fondant was the second installment of the six-course degustation. 

Perth’s Longest Lunch will return to Crown Towers on May 18 2018.

Katie McDonald attended the event as a guest of Brightwater