For the past four years, the group has renamed October “Wishtober” and the initiative has raised more than $450,000 in total for Make-a-Wish® Australia since its inception.
Now a much-loved tradition within the Barry Plant Group, each of the group’s offices contributes donations from commissions earned on every property sold throughout October. The Corporate office also donates a significant amount to the cause.
At an individual office level, many teams also engage in a range of fundraising activities such as gold coin donations at open for inspections, local fundraisers and auctioning Barry Plant bears prior to property auctions.
This year, the group was generously supported by the Glen Cameron trucking group who paid for and donated a 45 foot long trailer as a mobile billboard, driving around Melbourne throughout “Wishtober”, spreading the message about Make-a-Wish®.
The “Wishtober” campaign this year once again featured Fraser, who two years ago was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma and wished for a black puppy dog to play with. It was a giant photo of him and his puppy that graced the side of the truck.
So he was very excited when, with his family and his now fully grown (and well behaved) puppy, he visited the Cameron depot in Bayswater to have his photo taken in front of the enormous truck that featured his image. He was later thrilled to be taken for a ride in the truck.
Barry Plant Group CEO Mike McCarthy is delighted with the result and the opportunity it provides for the group to contribute to such a great organisation. “We are a long-standing supporter of Make-A-Wish and are so enthusiastic about the great work they do. Childhood should be a happy time and for some children to be facing and battling life-threatening illnesses is distressing. Being able to contribute so that Make-A-Wish can change lives of these kids, by granting cherished wishes, is really rewarding.”
