United: Guest speaker Jennafer Whelan, organiser Shirley O’Bree and guest speaker Jenny Reid all made speeches to discuss their experiences with epilepsy.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
Purple filled the function room at Echuca Workers as Shirley O’Bree held her annual morning tea to raise money for epilepsy research and awareness.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
As part of the Make March Purple for Epilepsy initiative, Ms O’Bree raised over $2700 for Epilepsy Australia by selling purple merchandise throughout March at Echuca Workers, Echuca Moama Family Medical Practice and Trilogy for Hair.
Ms O’Bree was overcome by the amount of money raised and the support shown at the morning tea on Thursday, March 21.
“I have been absolutely overwhelmed with the donations; I never thought I’d be able to raise this much for epilepsy research,” she said.
“I’m very proud that so many attended, and it raises so much money for Epilepsy Australia,” she said.
Ms O’Bree was also pleased with the turnout and said that the local community had an opportunity to discuss epilepsy’s impact on their lives.
“I enjoyed having people here and hearing about their stories with epilepsy, whether they have it themselves or a family member,” she said.
“It’s essential for the community of Echuca-Moama to engage with these types of events to raise money and awareness for epilepsy research.
“The best thing for an epileptic person to have is a friend, a friend to look after them, that’ll be there for them,” she said.
Purple power: Attendees listening to Jennafer Whelan speak during the Purple Day morning tea at Echuca Workers.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
Guest speaker Jennafer Whelan addressed the room with a speech about her son, Zane, who has epilepsy and discussed some of her experiences with raising him and how epilepsy has affected her family.
Ms Whelan wanted to touch on the importance of events like these to destigmatise epilepsy and educate people about the reality of what living with the disease is like.
“Fundraisers like these are important because they lessen the fear and stigma of epilepsy and give people information about it,” she said.
“Purple Day is really vital for raising awareness because the more people that know about epilepsy and can help, the safer people with epilepsy will be.”
Although there were only 30 tickets sold, an extra 10 people showed up to the event, which both Ms O’Bree and Ms Whelan were thrilled about.
Ms Whelan was able to thank all who have helped her and her son during his battle with epilepsy.
“It was so good just to see that sea of faces; they had to put out extra tables and chairs because they weren’t expecting to have as many as they did,” she said.
“I had a really lovely time; it was great to publicly thank all of the people who have helped Zane and me for all they’ve done for us.”
13°C