Tractors and trailers are not the standard tools used in cancer research, but this August 26, local farmers will be doing their part to raise funds for cancer research through a massive Combined Clearing Sale for Cancer. The small rural village of Caragabal will be hosting the event, and because local stock and station agents are generously donating their time and skills, a small percentage of the sale price will go to the Australian Cancer Research Foundation.
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Karen Pollock, the fundraising co-ordinator, has been overwhelmed by the generosity being shown already.
“We are so lucky, Forbes Livestock, as well as CJ Anderson and Aston and Joyce from Grenfell have all jumped at the chance to be involved, so the major cost of the sale is taken care of… allowing us to take a small percentage for cancer research,” she said.
The event will be run entirely by volunteers, and is shaping up to be an enormous day with early indications pointing to an impressive line-up of machinery.
“I’m not really surprised that so many farmers are keen to jump on board… it’s a no-risk and low-expense way to sell machinery, and we all have something sitting in the shed that would be better off in the bank account,” Karen said.
When asked what prompted the fundraising effort, Karen is a bit sheepish.
“I’d love to say that I’m a noble and altruistic person, but I went through treatment for aggressive triple negative breast cancer last year, and to be honest, I’d rather poke a stick in my eye than go through that again… we have some of the most brilliant minds in the world working on cancer treatments, and nothing happens without money. We want that research happening here in Australia so that we get the benefits from the trials and the treatments first!”
The anticipated large size of the sale has prompted the organising committee to get technology onside.
“We’ll be using a silent auction app to allow people to view the majority of the items online in the lead up to the sale, and punters may even be able to bid on smaller items in the lead up to the sale. The platform that we have chosen is very flexible, allowing pre-bids, setting maximum bids and transitioning to the live event, so that we can adjust the set-up for the smoothest running of the day,” Karen said.
“Caragabal is well known for making any event into a social event. Anyone would think that we don't have much to do in our little metropolis!”
Any businesses that would like to be involved either as a sponsor or by donating goods to auction are very welcome, and the clearing sale committee will be taking entries of machinery right up to the week before the sale. All enquiries can be directed to Karen at clearingsale4cancer@gmail.com, on 0400 809 166 or on the event Facebook page: @combinedclearingsale.