Variety Night brings total to $60,000!

We did it! On a hot, balmy Saturday evening, Cooktown's own special brand of local talent came together to raise nearly $3,000 and bring our fund-raising total to an amazing $60,000!

It was a fabulous night, and our huge thanks go to everyone involved: Serge Petelin (guitar) & Shaun Creek (didge) - what an opening act! Darcy & Ethan, the Terrible, and very funny, Twins; Derek Rosendale - always sublime; Roz Smith for her very entertaining (and toned down!) performance; Lek Jantrarat who held us spellbound with her stunning voice; Coleridge Bown - such smooth country sounds, no wonder you win awards! Dr. Mike and Dan the Man - your funky flute and guitar were fantastic. The Shee Sha Fusion Belly Dancers blew everyone away with their magical performance, and Tess's snake dance (with live snake) got everyone on the move, especially the kids!

And special thanks to the Black Image band whose fantastic music had everyone dancing 'til late. You guys deserve every award you've ever won. And to the talented and irreplaceable Dan Hodgson (aka Dan the Man) who not only played a rippin' guitar with Dr. Mike, but handled the lights and sound as well.

And behind the scenes... Italian Restaurant and Cooktown Food Services for their yummy food, the Re-enactment Association for running the bar, the Cooktown Local News for the advertising, Cooktown Newsagents for their inimitable banner-making skills, Cook Shire Council for the venue, the Cooktown Police for all their support, and the Cooktown Chamber of Commerce & Tourism for co-ordinating the event. 

And to all those fantastic helpers who cooked, counted, cleaned, fetched, carried, organised, promoted, and generally helped make it happen - Thank you! We're helping more people that we probably know - and it really was FUN!

How to donate

List of donors

Love & Romance bring in the $$s

Three fun events over Valentine's weekend brought Cooktown's contribution to the Queensland Disaster Appeal to over $35,000. Not bad for a small town!

With the starlit backdrop of the Endeavour River, mouth-watering food, questions all about love, and, mostly, romantic prizes (not sure about the meat cleaver) the I Love Trivia Night was a roaring success, raising $1,080 for Cooktown Cares. 

Every table was booked, the competition was fierce, but Cooktown's Chamber of Commerce team, The Chamber Pots, finally won the goody bags of wine and chocolate, which they donated back to the appeal for a future event.

Our big thanks to Dogged Bookkeeping's Jan Howard, who organised the wonderful evening and devised the fantastic questions, the team at Restaurant 1770 and Gill'd & Gutt'd, the businesses who donated the prizes, and to young helpers Zayne, Erryn and Ben, who kept everyone digging deep in their pockets for the cause. 

On Saturday, the sale of pre-loved items at Bargain Bonanza II raised an amazing $2,600, bringing the total of the two Bring and Buy sales to a whopping $5,756.

Organisers Nicki Darvell, Sayah Scott and Rae Vela would like to thank everyone for their generous support and donations, the numerous volunteers who worked tirelessly unpacking and packing, sorting and selling, and Cook Shire Council for the use of the Shire Hall. 

The items remaining will soon be going into St Vincent de Paul's storage, but if you would like to use any for a fund-raising event of your own, please contact Sayah on 07 4069 5203 as soon as possible. 

On Valentine's Day, lovers of James Cook dressed in their best black to commemorate the anniversary of his death at a Mourning Tea at the James Cook Museum.  Museum manager, Penny Johnson, kept everyone entertained with obscure historical facts from the era together with excellent coffee and chocolate cake, raising another $121.00 for the Appeal.

How to donate or make a pledge

Forthcoming events

List of donors 

RSL Fund-raiser Brings Total to Over $31,000!

It was standing room only on Friday night at the RSL Memorial Club's fund-raiser in Cooktown, where the band CN3D kept everyone dancing, and a massive $15,000 was raised for the Queensland Disaster Appeal.

Over 40 local businesses donated a fantastic range of prizes including free gardening, outboard motor service, tours, meals, food, wine, accommodation, and a pizza a week for 40 weeks! The door prize, a day's fishing and snorkelling on Mr. Bill, was won by Graham Duncan.

Cooktown's donations to the Queensland Disaster Relief Appeal now total over $31,000 - an awesome amount for a small town. And there's still more to come!

Our thanks to everyone who has given so generously, and congratulations to Suzi, John and all the team who worked tirelessly to make the event such a roaring success. 

Forthcoming events

How to donate or make a pledge 

List of donors

Over $16,000 raised to date...

With the majority of our major fund-raising events still to take place, Cooktown has already raised well in excess of $16,000 for the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal, which has now been extended to include the victims of Tropical Cyclone Yasi, as well as the Queensland Floods.

Check our Forthcoming Events for what's still to come - starting with a huge fund-raising event at the RSL Memorial Club on Friday, 4 February. Over 40 local businesses have donated prizes for the event, so it's going to be a great night.

How to donate or make a pledge

Bargains raise big dollars

Saturday, 29 January, was Bargain Bonanza Day, with a whopping $4,656 raised for the Queensland Disaster Appeal. A huge thank you to John and Barbara Hay who raised $1,500 at their Grand Auction, and to Rae Vela, Sayah Scott and Nikki Darvell, who organised a wonderfully successful Bring and Buy Bonanza which raised $3,156. 
  
Due to popular demand, Bring and Buy Bonanza II is being held on Saturday, 12 February. So many people didn't hear about this one in time that the organisers were bombarded with requests for another. See our Forthcoming Events for details. 

How to donate or make a pledge 

Australia Day fun & fund-raising

Our fund-raising events on Australia Day were all a great success, thanks to the generous folk of Cooktown and Ayton. 

Cooktown's Top Pub raised $1,116.05 on the day and the hotel added another $300 to take the total to $1,416.05. The major fund raiser of the day was the Cane Toad Races where winner takes all, and the total of $800 was won and donated straight back into the fund by winner Chad Darvell (pictured). 

The Top Pub donated $5 for each entrant, male or female, in the search for Cootown's Best Shaped Derriere, and also provided the $70 prize won by "Nicky", who donated it into the fund. And most of the winners in the other competitions either auctioned off their prize or donated it straight back to the appeal. 

The Bloomfield Memorial Association's fund-raiser at Ayton's Tin Shed attracted around 50 people - a big crowd for this tiny rainforest township (pop.260). They reported a fantastic day, with music, games and sausage sizzle, and raised a fantastic $546.11.

And a special mention for Issy and Laura, aged 10, who, to date, have raised $143.35 selling second-hand books outside the James Cook Museum. What a great effort!


Our congratulations and thanks to everyone who's kicked the appeal off to such a great start.

Events Coming Up

How to donate or make a pledge

Like being an extra in a disaster movie...

One of the thousands of volunteers who spent the weekend helping the clear-up in Brisbane, sent us an e-mail describing the experience.

"....[It] really hit home how devastating it is for people on a personal level, how vast it is, and how long the recovery does and will take. It really hit home the reality of it all.

 

It is really weird living on the northside where we are - and not affected at all. Coming home yesterday, it was like passing into another world.  I almost felt like I had just been an extra on one of those disaster movies, and then coming home for the night of normality with a comfortable bed and a clean house. Very very weird. We feel very very fortunate at this point in time..." 

How to donate or make a pledge

More great support - and the conundrum solved

Cooktown's Top Pub will be raising funds for the Flood Appeal on Australia Day, Wednesday, 26 January. There'll be plenty of live music and entertainment, so come along, have fun, and support a great cause at the same time. More information from Brenda or Jenny, Ph (07) 4069 5308.

Also on Australia Day, the Bloomfield Memorial Association will be raising funds at The Tin Shed, Ayton, from 12.00pm onwards. Great Aussie music, lucky door prizes, give-aways for kids, Toss the Boot and other games, and a sausage sizzle ($2). Everyone welcome. Bring a plate of nibbles to share. More information from Peter (07) 4060 8092.

The $$ are also rolling in with collection jars all over town, and generous donations pledged by Cooktown Auto Repairs, the Croc Shop and Cooktown Chamber of Commerce & Tourism. Adventure North Australia is donating $5.00 per tour passenger until further notice, and Cooktown's wonderful SheeSha Fusion Bellydancers have offered to perform in aid of the appeal. Details to come when we've sorted out the Events Calendar. 

And we've solved the long-distance tarot card reading conundrum! Thanks to @Fayes4Art - better known here as Faye Pini from the Cooktown School of Art - who suggested doing live readings on chat via webcam. More details later.

How to donate or make a pledge

More pledges confirmed - and a logistical conundrum

More pledges confirmed today...

Cooktown Motel Pam's Place will donate 10% of its accommodation revenue until 21 April 2011. 

The Cooktown RSL Memorial Club is holding a fund-raising evening on Friday, 4 February, with plenty of entertainment including a live band. They've already collected more than $3,000 worth of donated raffle prizes. Tickets are on sale at businesses around town. More information from John - 0414 250 090.

The Cooktown Newsagents are collecting cash donations, and Ian has offered his considerable artistic talents for any posters needed.  

We've also had a great offer of free tarot card readings from Twitter friend @GumBootSally. There are a few logistics to sort out (she's over 2,000 kms away in the flood zone) so if you've any bright ideas how we can make this work, please let us know!

How to donate or make a pledge

Passion we have, and challenges too...

Progress is being made! E-mails are flying with plans for the Australia Day Event, and we've received the following pledges:

Guurrbi Tours is donating 10% of its tour income between now and 21 April 2011. 

Subject to confirmation from the National Trust, the James Cook Museum will donate $1 for each adult visitor until 31 March. (Our best wishes to the staff in NT's Queensland HQ, which is in Brisbane's flooded CBD.)

Cooktown Paradise Realty will be holding an Auction with all proceeds going to Cooktown Cares on Saturday, 29 January, 10am. Location to be advised. Please help with good quality, second-hand goods - household items, books - anything that can be auctioned! Phone Barbara Hay (07) 4069 5922 or 0418 695 922 for more information.

And thank you to Terry Rayner, from Endeavour River Escape, who was giving away boxes of passion fruit in town yesterday. With the markets in Brisbane flooded, and roads blocked, he wanted to share his harvest rather than see it go to waste. We might be a long way from the floods, but their impact is still felt.

How to donate or make a pledge 

The ideas are flowing...

Eight of us got together at Nature's Powerhouse to start co-ordinating Cooktown Cares. A big 'Flood Aid' event on Australia Day, 26 January, was proposed, with other events running between now and Easter. The Powerhouse is planning to run a Fashion Show in February, and with so many terrific musicians in the region there'll be a big concert somewhere along the line. The Cooktown Lion's Club is on board as Treasurer.

We need to find a major sponsor to match what we raise.  Any offers out there? 

How to donate or make a pledge 

 

How to donate

Here are ways you can make a donation:

• Pay your donation into the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal account at Cooktown's ANZ or Westpac banks 
• Support the local businesses and community groups donating funds or collecting around town
• Join in one of the fund-raising events - or organise your own!
• If you'd like to donate a percentage of your sales, or a $ amount per visitor, e-mail your pledge to cooktowncares@gmail.com  

In all cases a tally is being kept so your donation will be added in to a Cooktown Grand Total, which we hope will be matched by a generous sponsor.

If you're unable to do any of the above, you can donate to the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal online. If you would like your donation to be included in the Cooktown Grand Total, please e-mail details of your donation to cooktowncares@gmail.com

Thank you for your generosity.

A fantastic response...

Two of us spent this morning ringing businesses to see if they would support Cooktown Cares. We had two hours before deadline to get a feature in this week's local paper. What an overwhelming response! Everybody likes the idea of donating a % of visitor spend, and we already have pledges of support from James Cook Museum, Guurrbi Tours, Cooktown Motel Pam's Place, Sovereign Resort, Seaview Motel, Cooktown Holiday Park, Coral Princess Cruises, Cooktown's Bargain Barn, Milkwood Lodge, Alamanda Inn, the Croc Shop and the Mayor. Paradise Realty want to hold an Auction, and the Cooktown Local News has also pledged its support, and is making space on the front page of this week's issue so we can start getting the word out.

Oh - and we mustn't forget Queensland Online's James Davison, who came up with the name 'Cooktown Cares' and is contributing his IT expertise. Thank you JD!

How to donate or make a pledge

A big thank you to all our donors

A huge thank you to everyone for their generous donations of $$ and hard work. The list is still growing...but if we've left anybody off, please email details to cooktowncares@gmail.com 

Adventure North Australia
Alamanda Inn
Alle Field 
Ambience Boutique
Andrew Kendray 
Anne Buchan 
Around-n-Over, USA
Baptist Church
Barbara Hay 
Bianca Allen 
Black Image
Bloomfield Memorial Association
Bowls by the Sea Bistro
Cape Crusaders
Catch A Crab
Chris & Ron Palmer
CN3D
Coleridge Bowen
Cook Shire Council
Cook's Landing Kiosk
Cooktown Auto Repairs
Cooktown Bargain Barn 
Cooktown Bowls Club
Cooktown Cafe
Cooktown Ceramics
Cooktown Chamber of Commerce & Tourism
Cooktown Community Church
Cooktown Cruises
Cooktown & District Community Centre 
Cooktown Food Services
Cooktown Golf Club
Cooktown Hardware
Cooktown Historical Society
Cooktown Holiday Park (Big 4)
Cooktown Hotel/Top Pub
Cooktown Iceworks
Cooktown Kindergarten 
Cooktown Lawn & Garden Care
Cooktown Lion's Club
Cooktown Local News
Cooktown Motel Pam's Place
Cooktown Newsagents
Cooktown Paradise Realty 
Cooktown Post Office
Cooktown Quality Meats
Cooktown Removals 
Cooktown RSL Memorial Club & staff
Cooktown Small Engine Repairs 
Cooktown Taxis 
Cooktown Tours
Cooktown Travel Centre
Cooktown Video Shop
Cooktown Wholesalers
Croc Shop
CWA
Dan Hodgson (aka Dan The Man)
Darcy & Ethan Severding
David Barker 
Derek Rosendale
Di Bucklar
Dogged Bookkeeping
Dr Mike
Elizabeth Peck
Endeavour Electrical
Endeavour Pharmacy
Endeavour River Escape
Eric Betts 
Everything Electrical
Gaye Armstrong 
Geoff & Poss Weingarth 
Gill'd & Gutt'd 
Gisela Whitear 
Gone Fishing
Guurrbi Tours
Hidden Valley Trail Rides 
HopeVale Arts & Cultural Centre 
Ian McKinna 
Ian McRae 
Issy Johnson & Laura Saw
Izzy Owen
James Cook Museum
Jan Howard 
John Dessmann
John Hay
Judy Bennett
Kath & Dave Houghton
Lek Jantrarat
Lewis Collins
Louisiana Estates
Lydia Lanko
Madeline Kilshaw-Browne
Milkwood Lodge
Mr Bill
MTC Builders 
Nature's Powerhouse 
Network Video
Nikki Darvell
Nick Dessmann
Orchid Travellers' Park
Pam Evans 
Penny Johnson 
Peter Staig Marine
Philip & Reshmee Morris 
Quinkan Hotel, Laura
Rae Vela
Regional & Remote Newspapers
Restaurant 1770
River of Gold Motel
Rob Oldaker
Roz Smith
Roy's Computers
Saratoga Fishing & Hunting 
Sayah Scott
Sean Gillen 
Seaview Motel 
Selwyn Wendt 
Serge Petelin
Shaun Creek
SheeSha Fusion Bellydancers 
Sovereign Resort
Sue McKewen 
TJ Cleaning
Tegan Crawford
Tess Photography 
The Italian Restaurant
Topend Camping & Outdoors
Trevor Owen 
Vanessa Gillen
Wal Williams
Wendy & Bernie Snape 
West Coast Hotel
Willie Gordon, Hope Vale