Runners head out for the start of the Casella Wines Visy City to Lake on Sunday.
THE outstanding success of Griffith’s first-ever Casella Wines Visy City to Lake has secured the event’s future.
Locals are now being urged to mark the first Sunday in March next year on their calendars and prepare for an even bigger and better fun run.
Griffith Health Facilities Ltd fundraising committee chairwoman Anne Napoli said following the success of the fundraiser, which
managed to raise almost $50,000 for the St Vincent’s Private Community Hospital Griffith, she was delighted to announce that it would now become an annual event.
“We are really thrilled by how well it went on Sunday,” she said.
“I was absolutely ecstatic to see so many community members get behind it.
“It sends a clear message that we want a community private hospital that will benefit the whole community.
“I am an optimist, so I was hoping for a good turnout, but I’m also a realist and thought if we got 600 we’d be doing well.
“When I saw how many people were there on Sunday I was blown away.”
Casella Wines and Visy have already agreed to be platinum partners for 2014 and Mrs Napoli said at this stage the event would return in the same format.
“We’ve learned a lot of things from Sunday’s event,” she said.
“It was a wonderful day, but there are a few things that we know we can do better.
“We are open to suggestions from the community.
“Some of us who have had dealings with St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney know how many Griffith people use it.
“This hospital is going to be a great asset for this community and will benefit Griffith in so many ways.
“I can’t wait to see it up and running.”
St Vincent’s & Mater Health Sydney manager capital works and asset management, Owen Judge, made the trip to Griffith for the fundraiser.
He was pleasantly surprised to see such a large crowd show their support.
“It was a beautiful event for a beautiful community,” he said.
“It’s so positive to see the support within the local community. I found it inspiring.
“To have 1000 people turn up for a city fun run is a large representation of the population and a mark of how they feel about this hospital.
“We’ve been working towards this goal for a while now and with every step we are getting closer.”