THE CANCER COUNCIL RELAY FOR LIFE

Collie & Tierney First National again participated in this years 'Cancer Council's' Relay for Life, held on the 12th & 13th April at the Mildura Ornamental Lakes.

The charity Relay aims to raise money for the Cancer Council and this year the Collie & Tierney team held a number of fundraising events to raise a final tally of $3,210.00 towards this worthy cause.

A number of staff members participated in the walk with some spending the entire night there. Collie & Tierney was also the winner of the best decorated campsite.

Plans are already underway for next years Relay for Life.

AUSTRALIAN RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE

Staff at Mildura's Collie & Tierney First National are doing their part to ensure the Red Cross can continue it's life-saving work, helping thousands of people across the nation.

Management at Collie & Tierney will donate $50 to the First National Red Cross Foundation for every staff member who gives blood to the Red Cross this month.

Collie & Tierney Director Tim Aldridge said at least 20 staff members had either donated, or planned to donate blood, which at $50 per person represents another $1000 for Red Cross. It's a move which will not only bolster Mildura's Red Cross Blood Bank but the Red Cross at a national level. It's just one way Collie & Tierney is helping the Red Cross.

The organisation has already donated $1000 to the First national Foundation to be injected into the Australian Red Cross's Emergency REDiPlan.

REDiplan was launched in February this year and is a community information program to help Australians prepare for and recover from emergencies. Mr Aldridge said while the fund raising efforts were directed at a national Red Cross program, it would certainly benefit Sunraysia residents at some time in their lives. "This partnership will focus on building stronger, more emergency-ready communities across the country including here in Mildura", he said."Better prepared households can deal more readily with smaller emergencies like house fires or burst water mains, but will also be better placed to cope with larger events such as floods, bush fires and even man-made emergencies"

Mr Aldridge said Collie and Tierney was already planning a series of fund raising events, including the blood drive, to help the cause.