Several members of the Rotary Club of Osborne Park have been raising funds for the Type I Diabetes Family Centre by volunteering at the Telethon Community Cinemas. During the 2019/20 summer season, 7 Members volunteered which resulted in the centre receiving a $4500 donation from Telethon. Covid-19 caused an early shut down, which resulted in a reduced total raised. For the current summer season, 5 members have signed up which should result in a further payment of $5000.
The Type 1 Diabetes Family Centre provides support for children with type 1 diabetes and their families. Since opening its doors in 2015, the Family Centre has built a thriving community in Western Australia, supporting people to face the challenges of type 1 diabetes with confidence. The Family Centre is a non-profit organisation that does not receive any government funding and relies on community and corporate support to fund their work.
Telethon7 Community Cinemas supports a number of charities, including the Type I Diabetes Family Centre, by donating to the selected charity $1,000 for every volunteer who works for a minimum of 10 nights at one of the five cinemas in Burswood, Joondalup, Murdoch, Belmont & Fremantle. The shifts commence at 5.45pm and finish at around 10pm, and on a busy night can keep the volunteers very active. This year the number of patrons has varied between 12 and 500.
Each night there is a manager, who oversees the night and distributes duties, including Front Gate, Box Office, Setting up and attending to Gold Class Patrons, Managing Bean Bags, Coffee Barista, Candy Bar, pizza & popcorn sales Alcohol Bar and Sausage Sizzle. On arrival at about 5.30pm, rubbish bins have to be placed around the ground, signs placed where required, bean bags removed from containers and candy bar and alcohol cash register floats are checked. The candy bar and alcohol fridges are re stocked the night before so they are ready when the patrons arrive. At the end of the movie all duties are reversed.
By the end of this summer, the Rotary Club of Osborne Park should have raised $9500 for the Type I Diabetes Family Centre, an organisation doing great charitable work assisting those impacted by Type 1 Diabetes.