It was an early morning for the Tamworth Club Aruma team as they headed to their local Bunnings to host their first sausage sizzle.
By 8:30 am, the first round of sausages was ready for the locals who started to arrive, and all of them were ready for a snag!
“It was such a big day! We got smashed. It seemed everyone wanted a sausage sizzle, and some even came back on the way out for a second. The community loved it, and our staff and participants loved serving them,” said Kristy Childs, Service Lead Community.
By the time they flipped the last sausage around 2:30 pm the team of around 13 staff and participants had sold an incredible 29.5 kilos of meat and raised a whopping $1600. Not bad for their first time.
Aurizon, a freight rail transport company based in Werris Creek, stepped up and donated $250 worth of sausages. Their generosity helped make the whole day possible.
“I was so proud of the team for pulling this together so quickly. When we first enquired to Bunnings, there was a 12-month wait. However, two weeks before the date, Bunnings called me and said they’d had a cancellation. Everyone worked together to make it a success,” said Kristy.
She continued, “We hope we can continue to do these regularly. Every three or six months would be great. It’s a great way to get some spare cash for the Hub and make some improvements, which we hope will have a flow-on effect and encourage more participants to join us.”
The team wants to update the gaming setup, get karaoke equipment and new furniture. They’re also currently commissioning an Indigenous art mural for the Hub. Club Aruma Tamworth also puts on a big Christmas party luncheon each year, so they’re saving some of the money for that.
The sausage sizzle also marks the beginning of a new friendship with the Bunnings team.
“They’ve also invited us back for a free morning tea and DIY class for the participants. We’re hoping that can also become a regular outing as we have a lot of arty participants at our Hub,” shared Kristy.
We can’t wait to hear about the next fundraiser and see the finished art mural! Stay tuned.
