A year ago the Big Gig's organiser Joe Gollan hoped to raise enough to paint the outside of Carrie's Place. But the event has raised much, much more.
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The sold-out event, held at Maitland Town Hall on Saturday night, raised more than $50,000 for Maitland’s anti-domestic violence service Carrie’s Place.
Celebrity guests included comedian Judith Lucy, broadcaster Carol Duncan, the Maitland Pipe and Drums band and opera singer Emily Mwila.
Mr Gollan said the night went off without a hitch and he had heard nothing but positive feedback reverberating through the community.
“I’m blown away,” he said. “But for us the greatest outcome was the enormous awareness [the event] raised.”
Mr Gollan paid special tribute to co-organiser Bronwyn Bell.
“Without her it would have never come together as polished as it did,” he said.
Carrie’s Place manager Jan McDonald said The Big Gig was, by far, the largest single fundraiser ever held for her service.
She said the funds will eventually be used to renovate and expand the service’s accommodation and headquarters.
“The whole night was a celebration of a community that came together to say no to domestic violence,” she said.
“There was a real sense of oneness.”
Ms McDonald said the event sent a clear message – the people of Maitland are horrified by the region’s high rate of domestic violence and want to stamp it out.
“It’s a sign people are listening to what the stats are telling us,” she said. “They’re standing up and asking ‘what can we do to stem the tide?’.”
Ms McDonald said the defining moment, for her, was when the celebrity headline act – comedian Judith Lucy – approached each one of her staff and insisted on learning their names.
“To get that recognition from the community, from someone like her… they put their heart on the line for their work,” she said.
Ms McDonald thanked Glencore, who purchased tickets and donated them back to the organisers so the Carrie’s Place staff could attend.
