Wine & Jazz a Win For Our Local Children's Ward.

by Dominique Schuh

Schuh Group was proud to be the major sponsor of Wishlist's inaugural Jazz and Wine Festival held in Gympie last Saturday night. The event was the first of many to come and raised an incredible $25,000 for Gympie Hospital. Almost 250 people converged on Gunabul Homestead on Saturday afternoon to enjoy the talents of celebrated jazz and blues artists, indulge in gourmet food and savour Amadio wines whilst giving back to our community and investing in its future. 

Wishlist Marketing Manager Megan Harkin said, a number of local business and community groups came together to create an opportunity to raise much-needed funds and prior to the event, an additional $12,000 was raised through the Zinc 96.1 Family Picnic Race Day and significant donations from Bidvest, Quota, Rotary Club of Gympie and Cooloola, and Gympie South Lions Ladies Auxiliary. "We are proud to announce that we can now purchase the $36,946 BiPAP Non-Invasive Ventilator for Gympie Hospital," Ms Harkin said.

Gympie Hospital Acting Director of Nursing/Facility Manager Nicole White said thanks to community spirit, the Emergency Department would be the grateful recipient of the ventilator. "This machine can be life-saving for those with breathing difficulties, or presenting in respiratory distress," Ms White said. "This will enhance our emergency service immensely and these patients will be able to stay in Gympie for treatment."

The Festival was the first of its type in Gympie and was a "success on all fronts", Ms Harkin added. "The event was so well supported by the community as a whole. The business community provided much-needed support in the lead-up to the event, the quality of the entertainment and wine was second-to-none, and the weather on the day could not have been more perfect. The most asked question on the day from guests was 'can you do it again next year?'. Absolutely we will! We will aim to make it bigger and better, but we have set that bar high, based on how Saturday went."

Ms Harkin said while raising funds for essential medical equipment locally was the priority on the day; the event also raised awareness in the community about the great work Wishlist does for the Gympie community.

Schuh Group, is a proud and avid supporter, and active investor in our community. This event exceeded our expectations both as a social event, and as a fundraiser for Wishlist and its endeavours to provide much-needed equipment for the Gympie Hospital. And we cannot wait to put our hand up to sponsor this very worthwhile function next year. We would like to thank our clients for their continued loyalty and support. Without you, we would not be in a position to support vital events such as these. Other sponsors of the event include The Gympie Times, Sutton Building Solutions, GJ Gardner Homes and Zinc 96.1.