AWN AWN Celebrates 20 Years of Support for Royal Flying Doctors Service
This year, AWN reached an incredible milestone with the 20th anniversary of our relationship with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS). This vital service relies on donations from its partners, and AWN was pleased to raise more than $13,000 at our annual end-of-season charity auctions.
For the past 20 years, AWN has donated the proceeds from specially selected bales to support the services the RFDS provides across rural and remote Australia, helping reduce the disparity of health service access in these areas. It is a privilege to support such valuable work being done to provide medical help, and often life-saving assistance, to people in country areas.
Two bales of wool sold in Sydney for $4,200, and bidding resulted in $3,024 for two bales in Melbourne; $2,000 was raised by AWN Fremantle while Dyson Jones Fremantle contributed a very welcome $3,771.85.
Southern NSW Sheep and Wool Specialist and Auctioneer Cassie Baile said seeing the excellent competition for the bales was fantastic.
“In such a difficult market, it was great to achieve good results. We offered two bales of 17.1-micron MF4E wool, one of the highest-quality lines. The wool measured 87mm and was specially selected for this auction. VBC were the successful buyers at 1400c greasy, and it was fantastic that the RFDS’ south-eastern section community fundraising coordinator Sarah Doherty was on hand to see the auction,’’ she said.
AWN Victorian Manager Kelvin Shelley thanked Endeavour Wool, one of the nation’s biggest exporters of Australian wool and the successful purchaser of the two charity bales in Melbourne.
“We have received strong support from exporters wanting to help the RFDS as they understand how close to our hearts this charity is and how it helps our clients throughout Australia,’’ he said.
The 17.8-micron MF4S offering reached 1200c, resulting in $3024 for the RFDS.
AWN Western Australia Wool and Livestock Manager Greg Tilbrook said there was good support in the auction room in Fremantle, with bidding reaching 1121c/kg greasy.
“We offered a bale from our bin 100 rehandle, finer wool samples specially collected during the past 12 months. We were very pleased with the price achieved for the 16.2-micron wool, which measured 78mm, as this was $1.20 above market value,’’ he said.
“The successful buyer was Zena Wrexam from Tianyu, a major buyer on the day. The bale fetched close to $2000, and after we reimbursed the testing and selling fees, we donated $2000 to the RFDS.
“As a business, we are more than happy to support a charity that supports our clients and people throughout our state and, in fact, throughout the country.’’
Western Australian-based Dyson Jones raised $3771.85 to boost this year’s total to more than $13,000.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern Section (RFDSSE) has long been associated with AWN.
“Over 20 years, these bale auctions have raised money to support vital health care services to people living and travelling through regional, rural, and remote NSW,’’ RFDSSE Chief Executive Officer Greg Sam said.
“We cannot emphasise how important these fundraising events are. One-third of our funding comes from the generosity of donors and partners like AWN. This significantly contributes to improving accessibility to services and improved health outcomes where they are most needed. Every dollar does count.”
