Mid West Charity Begins at Home gearing up for this year’s largest fundraiser

Holiday packages, a 10kg block of chocolate and a jersey signed by local AFL legend Patrick Cripps are just some of the hundreds of items up for sale at a Mid West charity’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

Mid West Charity Begins at Home is gearing up to host a silent auction this month, with more than $80,000 worth of items up for bid.

This will be the second time the charity has ran a silent auction, with the event replacing its annual gala fundraising ball for this year.

The money raised will be used to directly support Mid West families battling serious health issues manage and maintain their expenses during difficult times.

MWCBH president Anne-Maree Hopkinson said the charity had been providing help for the past 17 years after a group of ladies came together to help a family member manage their family, mortgage and finances when forced to leave home and work to receive treatment in Perth.

She said since then the charity had helped hundreds across the region.

In 2022 the charity provided financial support to 22 Mid West families and in 2023 this number more than doubled, with 48 families being supported.

“We are at 35 families this year already and the year isn’t even over,” Ms Hopkinson said.

“That’s more than one family per week.”

Ms Hopkinson said the charity operated almost entirely though the dedication of volunteers, with close to 98 per cent of the funds raised through its fundraising going directly back to the community.

Group secretary Onika Routlege said events such as the silent auction and gala ball were often its biggest fundraising events of the year.

And while the gala will return in 2025, Ms Routlege said the upcoming silent auction was on track to be just as huge.

“It’s been a good couple of months fundraising and putting items together, and we’re only just now starting to collect everything,” she said.

“We have been very lucky this year; our sponsors have been very generous, donating so many items for the auction. We are very grateful.”

The pair said there were some phenomenal items in the auction this year, from locally made jewellery, electric scooters and flights to Perth and back all up for grabs.

Ms Routlege said Geraldton’s Mitchell and Brown Retravision were once again this year’s naming sponsors, donating around $8000 worth of electronics to the auction, with TVs, smart watches and even a pizza oven being donated.

“There’s some really great items that you could start bidding on and putting aside as we lead up to Christmas,” Ms Routlege said.

The charity will open up its auction on October 12, with the event closing on October 26 at a special VIP event for its many donors and volunteers.

It will be accepting donations from the community throughout the auction, so community members who want to donate are encouraged to reach out.