Volunteers from the Gloucester Community Shop have managed to get their slice of birthday cake after all, with COVID restrictions allowing them to keep on trading.
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The group had decided to celebrate early as the COVID cases in Victoria and NSW were heating up. They handed out a bunch of cheques on August 19 but held off on the cake.
But as the actual birthday rolled closer, they decided they were in clear to have a somewhat proper celebration on Friday, September 4. It was still ahead of the official September 18 date but, for them, it was just another chance to hand out a few more community donations.
As always, this selfless group of people focused more on giving to others than patting themselves on the back.
In the two years of trading, the Gloucester Community Shop has continually made every occasion about handing out money to organisations and groups in town.
Before cutting the cake, the group presented cheques as follows:
The Australia Day committee received a financial contribution for its January 2021 event. The plan is to forge ahead with the event and hope for the best with the COVID situation.
The Gloucester Soccer Club received funds for its ladies indoor soccer competition to help pay for the cost of running the lights in the Gloucester Recreation Centre.
The Gloucester Sports Awards received a donation for its 2021 presentation night. This year's event was cancelled due to COVID but it's due to come back next year, bigger and better.
And the Gloucester Worimi First Peoples Aboriginal Corporation received financial for its NAIDOC celebration. It was due to take place in July but the COVID situation saw the national-wide events delayed until November.
"This sort of thing can only be done with the support of the volunteers and those donating," volunteer Cedric Salter said during the presentation. "We were only going to try it for four months and we're still here."
After the handing over of the cheques, Cedric took a moment to acknowledge the tireless effort of fellow volunteer, Di Relf.
"A like to say a special thank you to Di. She does everything around here," Cedric said.
"Cedric is here as much as I am," Di responded. Neither like the spotlight and would prefer to make the presentations about the community groups.
The Gloucester Community (Op) Shop donates all of its profits directly back into the community. It's located at 41 King Street and is currently open Tuesday to Saturday from 9am until noon.