Local charity Country Hope will be running food, drink and craft stalls at the Trish and Lou Sartor’s garden during the Festival of Gardens as one of its major fundraising efforts. Many of the gardens have a charity of some kind attached to them, allowing the community to doubly benefit from the owners’ generosity.

Babs Donaldson, regional co-ordinator of Country Hope, said event like the festival helped the charity support many children diagnosed with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

“”It’s very important we do these fundraising events,” Mrs Donaldson said.

“We don't receive any government funding and so we rely on donations and events like the Festival of Gardens.”

Founded in 2003, the relatively new charity supported more than 40 families across the district, helping sick children get treatment at places like Randwick Children’s Hospital and the Children's Hospital at Westmead. Mrs Donaldson said they would often help send a child and a parent to Sydney by paying for flights and accommodation, easing the burden on families already dealing with the stress of a sick child. Once a year, Country Hope also hosted a camp which allowed about 130 people including sick kids, their parents and siblings a chance to get away from the stress of daily life.

“A lot of these children can’t be treated in the country,” Mrs Donaldson said.

A little girl named Abby had been with Country Hope since she was born nine years ago and required monthly trips to Sydney for treatment of her chronic kidney condition. Abby had a home dialysis machine and would sometimes spend 12 hours a day hooked up to the life-saving device.

Country Hope will have slices and sandwiches on offer alongside the craft stalls on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the festival and all of the volunteers would be family and friends of the sick children.

There will also be a patchwork quilt display from Norma Spencer, Lyn Conway and Joyce Moorhouse.