Last week, 86 Ingenia Lifestyle Hervey Bay residents joined forces to host a ‘Bowls for Boobs’ event, raising a whopping $1800 towards breast cancer prevention.

It is predicted that 20,428 women and 212 men will receive a breast cancer diagnosis in Australia this year, with women aged from 50 to 75 years most at risk[1].

Ingenia Lifestyle Hervey Bay couple, Terrence and Chris Clark played an instrumental role in the execution of the event and said they were extremely proud of their community for bringing their charitable spirit on the day.

“We were truly blown away by the kindness of everyone. We feel so proud to have raised more than $1800 for the cause – it completely exceeded our expectations,” Mr Clark said.

“The whole day kind of came about after another resident suggested hosting some sort of event for the Cancer Council Foundation.

“We thought, ‘Why don’t we have a day where we come together and raise money – we could make a day of bowls and call it ‘Bowls for Boobs.

“We held a luncheon of hot dogs, pink-frosted cupcakes and treats for $5 a head and charged $7 for entry into our little bowls competition.

“Ingenia kindly donated funds from their Activate program to cover the cost of the luncheon and worked closely with our bowls team in organising the day.

“We thought this would be a great way to raise funds, but I decided to take it a step further and contact some of our bowls club sponsors. Universal Home Improvements generously donated $250 which just goes to show how kind the Hervey Bay community is.

“A raffle was also held to help raise funds and a resident here who happens to be an artist, Owen Pointon, kindly donated an artwork to be auctioned. The piece managed to raise $225 which was just amazing!” Mr Clark said.

Ingenia Lifestyle Hervey Bay Community Sales Manager Sharon Manson said she was thrilled with the community’s response to the event.

“This cause is really important to the community. Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting Australian women, especially for women in the over 50s age group,” she said.

“A few of our residents have been dealt a breast cancer diagnosis and many of us have been touched by the effects of breast cancer in some sort of way.

“For us to have raised more than $1800 is just phenomenal and a true testament of the generous nature of the residents and wider community here at Hervey Bay.”

Images:  Left – Residents Ann Culshaw and Pauline Wearne , Right – Resident Chris Woo