PEOPLE from Garah and the surrounding district who need financial assistance to travel away for medical treatment outside the region have received a $25,000 helping-hand from the state government, with Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall announcing a one-off grant for the Garah Community Fundraiser.
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Mr Marshall said the funding, provided by the Deputy Premier and the Minister for Health, would assist locals with travel and accommodation expenses associated with accessing medical treatment in the city.
"For those who live in rural and remote NSW, having to travel outside the region for medical and specialist appointments is a necessary, and expensive, part of life," Mr Marshall said.
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"The funds will be administered by Maureen Ledingham and the Garah Community Fundraiser, which a fantastic local organisation that raises money to alleviate financial pressures on sick community members.
"I want to thank Maureen and the Garah Community Fundraiser for its work - it is humbling to see an organisation like this rallying around its own and providing help when it is needed most.
"Usually to raise funds the group hosts trivia nights and conducts raffles, however those efforts have been significantly hampered over the past two years by COVID-19 restrictions and the drought, which dried up any spare change people might have to donate."
An ecstatic Ms Ledingham said the grant would provide a much-needed boost to their dwindling funds.
"Garah is such a tight-knit community where everyone looks after each other," she said.
"Our organisation has been operating since 2007, when we started fundraising to support a young local girl who was being treated for cancer.
"Since then there have been multiple members of the community who have gone through similar experiences, currently there are at least seven locals who are being treated for cancer.
"I want to thank Adam and the state government for providing this assistance, it will be such a weight off those individuals who are already struggling through so much."