EVA Barnes is a 19-year-old, who spent time in the Royal Children’s Hospital when she was young. Over the past 10 years she has raised $22,000, because she wanted to give back to the hospital that had helped her.
Supported by her grandmother (who taught her how to bake cakes) and inspired by seeing the children in need of care at the hospital Barnes raised the money by selling cakes, potpourri and jams at markets.
On 1 April the Sorrento Activity Centre (SPSSC) supported Barnes with a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party-themed afternoon, raising $3100 for the hospital.
Artist John Bredl, artist and a member of the activity centre’s art group, gave a talk on his time as a painter and did a demonstration landscape of a scene on the Murray River. The painting was then auctioned for the children’s hospital.
Six of the nine groups that meet at the centre were involved in the tea party which saw 54 people attend the lunch, half wearing a fancy hat.
Barnes dressed as Alice, while her grandmother Irene Barnes was the Mad Hatter, and her father was the White Rabbit.
Xavier Murtagh, location captain (Sorrento) for the Uncle Bob’s Club for the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal spoke about the importance of groups and clubs such as the activity centre raising money for the hospital.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 4 April 2023
