The response to this year’s Girls’ Night In has been overwhelming, with so many fantastic supporters relishing the chance to reconnect in person at an impressive range of events. One of the brilliant aspects of Girls’ Night In is the ability to host an event your way, while raising funds that will make a massive difference in helping the 16,000 women in Victoria diagnosed with cancer each year.
Funds raised through each Girls’ Night In event will help to increase awareness of screening options for Victorian women, trans and gender diverse people. Regular cervical screening tests can prevent around 90% of cervical cancers, but currently only around 62% of Victorian women take the tests.
Screening rates, treatment, and support for cancers such as gynaecological and breast cancers can continue to improve thanks to the efforts of Girls’ Night In supporters like Kristy.
Since 2009, Kristy has been supporting Girls’ Night In by organising various events that have raised over $137,000, including raising over $18,000 in 2022. This tremendous amount will go a long way to helping support women’s cancers.
“I first started fundraising for this cause after watching a beautiful friend living with a terminal cancer diagnosis and feeling helpless about the situation. Fundraising for Cancer Council Victoria makes me feel that less helpless,” Kristy says.
Since 2012, Kristy has held a much-loved garden high tea event. When COVID impacted Girls’ Night In in 2020, Kristy considered cancelling her fundraising that year. Instead, Kristy adapted, hosting a virtual high tea in the COVID-impacted years of 2020 and 2021.
In 2022, Kristy’s garden high tea was back in full swing, along with wider-reaching fundraising events in the local community.
“Our theme for 2022 was Winter Wonderland. We had 65 guests attend and sold-out tickets to our event in just over 30 hours! During the year we also held two honey sales drives and a community cinema fundraising movie night,” Kristy explains. “I realised that there was a finite amount my guests could contribute to the high tea event, so I looked for different ways to encourage the wider community to contribute.”
A true sense of family and community underpins Kristy’s motivation to make a difference with Girls’ Night In. “I am a firm believe that fundraising isn’t the effort of one person, it is a picture that is made up of lots of puzzle pieces and lots of people who are all playing an important role, big or small, to achieve great things,” she says. “Together we are stronger and can achieve positive results that genuinely make a difference in the lives of many people for generations to come.”
Girls’ Night In events are taking place anytime this spring. It’s not too late to register or donate. Learn more here.