By Oliver Winn
The Upper Yarra SES’ trivia night raised a record-breaking amount for the unit as it looked to cover costs of a new replacement vehicle.
It raised just under $16,000 at its trivia night on 17 May which set a record for the unit while also recording 170 guests in attendance.
Upper Yarra SES unit controller Hannah Brunton said the event was an absolute success.
“It was a really great night. I think everybody had a really good time. And we raised a lot of money, so it was a really great outcome.”
With the opening of the Warburton Mountain Bike Destination trail this year expected to increase the volume of call-outs to the area, the funds raised covered a quarter of the total cost for a new replacement car.
With the ever increasing cost of living pressures, Ms Brunton said she’d be happy if the outcome of the trivia night matched the one she hosted in 2023 and that the night exceeded her expectations.
“I really wasn’t expecting to achieve what we did last time so to achieve and I guess to pass that was very impressive.”
The trivia night took place at the Warburton Golf Club and included questions on geography, TV, movies, history, music and many more categories.
Other activities for the night included the silent auction which Ms Brunton said was one of the highlights for the night.
With 52 silent auction deals, there was a wide range of prizes won.
“So we had an overnight stay at Balgownie Estate, we had hampers and things from local businesses as well, over half of our local businesses donated to us.”
Over 50 local businesses donated for the trivia night’s silent auction.
Aside from the trivia night, the Upper Yarra SES aims to host another major fundraising event this year.
“Our goal is to have two major fundraisers per year, so one every six months, but it really depends entirely on what our operational requirements are,” Ms Brunton said.
“So because the same group of volunteers are organising these fundraising events and they’re also attending requests for assistance from the public, if we’re going through a very busy period of time, we’ll have to forego a fundraising event. So we do our best to go every six months.”
“Later this year we are also planning a barn dance that will be held in October, we’ll start selling tickets for that and organising that once the trivia night is done and dusted,” Ms Brunton said.
