KILMORE Football Netball Club officials believe a fundraiser for young player Tom de Sousa raised more than $100,000 after what was described as one of the biggest functions in the Blues’ history.
Earlier this year the club announced Mr de Sousa had been diagnosed with brain cancer and launched a fundraiser to support him, his wife Hope and young daughter Eden.
A page supporting the de Sousa family on fundraising website GoFundMe had reached nearly $20,000 as of yesterday afternoon, but Kilmore Football Netball Club president Ben Egan said that total was dwarfed by the money raised at the club’s Big Night In function on Saturday.
Following the Blues’ practice match against Coburg Districts, the club hosted an event with food, drinks, live music and other entertainment, with hundreds of people in attendance raising money through a combination of raffles and auctions.
“We were trying to sign people in, but that was only people who went in through the front door, and a lot of people were filtering in and hanging around outside,” Mr Egan said.
“If I had to have a conservative guess, I’d say there were 700 or 800 people, but it could have even been close to 1000. It was enormous.
“It shows how much support there is for the [de Sousa] family. There were people there who we hadn’t seen in years or people we had never seen before. There were some people who weren’t even connected to the club.”
Mr Egan said while officials were yet to tally the money raised on the night, it was one of the most successful fundraisers in the club’s history.
“We don’t have an official number yet, but we had $40,000 in the auction alone, nearly $10,000 in the silent auction, and we sold about $15,000 in raffle tickets – and that’s before you count any bar takings, [and it] was the biggest bar we’ve ever done by far,” he said.
“If you had to put an overall number on it, I would say at the conservative end it would be over $100,000. It’s insane.”
Mr Egan said he had a ‘massive’ sense of pride at what the club and the community had achieved to support the de Sousa family.
“It reaffirms why we do it. People question sometimes why I do it, but it’s the ability to bring people together and unite the community,” he said.
“It shows the strength of football netball clubs. There really is no place like them, particularly in a regional town. They’re something that can bring everyone from all walks of life together.”
Mr Egan said Tom and the de Sousa family had expressed their gratitude at the support, and thanked the many residents and businesses who helped make the Big Night In a success.
“On behalf of the club I want to thank everyone in the community who contributed. We couldn’t have done it without them and to see people vote with their feet and get out there to support Tom and his family was fantastic,” he said.
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