$700 to be donated to school

When organising the night we had no way of knowing how many would come. We thought 60 would be safe and guessed at how many would pay upfront. I wanted to ensure that the night was cheap enough that finances didn’t stop anyone. The 30 year Forest High reunion being held the same night at Dee Why was $90 a head. We wanted to give an incentive to pay upfront both to make our job easier and cover the expenses incurred before the night.

As a result of such a great response, plus Brookvale Hotel deciding only to charge us for 100 people instead of the actual 118, and more people choosing to wait and pay extra on the night we have ended up with an excess of $700.

My original idea was to donate any potential extra funds to Scott Green who was sick in hospital, but he asked us to find a more worthy charity. Another suggested support groups for Missing Persons as a way of remembering Alan Campbell and the support needed by his family. Another suggested medical equipment for a hospital as they had experienced first hand with the birth of their children how important it was.

My wife Jenny suggested the Forest High School seing we all had it in common. I rang the school and talked to the Principal Peter Gillam about the idea. He was naturally enthusiastic and spoke of paying for signs around the school, or library material, or electrical equipment. Then he mentioned that some students, and their parents, struggle financially and I was hooked. In our own year at school some students came from wealthy families, some from poor and a lot in the middle. Some missed out on school experiences like Jindabyne and Leeton because of tight finances at home.

It isn’t a lot of money but hopefully $700 can help a couple of students have a few more positive memories of school. So on your behalf I am donating the proceeds from the night to the school to be given to these families at the school's discretion.