Any group of volunteers that raises tens of thousands of dollars to help people year after year deserves the praise of this community.
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Vision Australia will receive about $25,000 from this year’s Maitland Garden Ramble, to help Hunter residents who are vision impaired.
Today, Mercury readers met Mick Baker, a severely vision impaired Metford man who gets through life with significant independence, thanks largely to the help of Vision Australia.
Mr Baker is just one of the many people in the Hunter who benefit from the hard work of volunteer groups such as the Maitland Black and White Committee, which organises the Garden Ramble – one of the most popular events on the city’s social calendar.
During the ramble, eight private but perfectly manicured gardens in the Maitland area were opened to the public for admiration, judgement and, ultimately, bragging rights.
While organisers were still counting the amount that this year’s event raised on Wednesday, they said the total had passed $24,000.
This would be a noteworthy feat if the group had raised that sort of money this year alone.
But the fact that this is just the latest in an annual fundraising effort that has spanned about half a century, averaging about $55,000 a year, makes the committee’s work remarkable.
Mr Baker told the Mercury on Wednesday that Vision Australia had helped him do things that he wouldn’t otherwise be able to do such as cook, work an office job and use a computer.
His story is a perfect example of how the Maitland Black and White Committee, along with those who welcomed people into their gardens as part of the ramble, make a difference to the lives of ordinary people who have been dealt a tough hand.
