The City of Adelaide in partnership with the Australia Day Council (SA), named The Glam Adelaide Foundation SA4SA Bushfire Appeal Gala the prestigious Community Event of the Year at the 2021 City of Adelaide Citizen of the Year Awards today.
Spearheaded by Showcase South Australia and Glam Adelaide CEOs, Steve Testar and Kelly Noble respectively, the event raised just under $400K for communities ravaged by the bushfires last year.
Kelly Noble said that both herself and Steve were humbled by this award, and that it reflects the generosity of the community at that time.
“Our efforts were supported by everyone who donated, contributed and attended this event – it was a massive team effort and we continue to be so grateful and are extremely humbled by today’s recognition,” said Noble.
The event evolved from a bushfire social media group to help keep communication channels open for all those impacted or wanting to help. Glam Adelaide went on to publish over 120 articles focused on bushfire resources, guides to help impacted businesses, and information on fundraising events.
“There was an overwhelming sea of voices that wanted to come together and do something to assist these communities, plus we wanted to leverage our huge South Australian network to make a difference. The Gala was an obvious next step,” she said.
The Glam Adelaide Foundation SA4SA Bushfire Appeal Gala fundraising event was held on 31st January 2020 at the Adelaide Convention Centre, after being put into motion only days after bushfires began ravaging the
Adelaide Hills in December 2019.
Kelly’s business Glam Adelaide is a positive South Australian news website, while Steve’s company Showcase South Australia, focuses on business networking and events. As both organisations strongly support local South
Australian business and communities, it was a natural fit for both to refocus their resources to pull together the gala.
“Using Showcase SA’s strong business network across South Australia and Glam Adelaide’s large readership, we were able to secure fantastic donations, and work with dozens of generous businesses who were able to supply wine, local produce, event theming, entertainment, auction donations and more, to ensure the success of the event,” Testar said.
Supported by of dozens of selfless volunteers, the event rallied South Australians to support those impacted by the bushfires. The result was 1400 gala tickets being sold in a single week, making it the largest indoor event of
2020 for South Australia.
To facilitate fundraising and to guarantee the money stayed within South Australia, the Glam Adelaide Foundation was established in early January 2020 to oversee the event. This ensured that the $381,340 raised
was provided directly to South Australian families and businesses.
$279,086 was donated directly to the State Government’s SA Bushfire Appeal.
In addition to the funds raised by ticket sales and the auction on the night for the SA Bushfire Appeal, $102,254 was also raised by a series of bucket list dinners which were auctioned off, donated by Duncan Welgemoed
(Africola) and his fantastic network of inspiring chefs. Funds from the dinners were donated to the Adelaide Hills Wine Region Bushfire Appeal, and two of the hardest hit wineries, Tilbrook Estate and Vinteloper.
Another extension of the campaign included free premium listings to SA businesses affected by the bushfires on the I Choose SA business directory, which is run by Showcase SA.
Steve and Kelly were humbled by the support and generosity shown by South Australians to their fellow South Aussies in need of help, especially all the key supporters listed below.
KEY SUPPORTERS
• Event committee: Laura Nash, Brylee Foulis, Lisa Richmond, Neely Karimi, Lucy Brewer, Ida Wong, Gabrielle Leonello, Mimi Wong, Adam Rowe, Ping Liew, John McCourt, Filip Odzak, Lettie Thwaites and Michele Lally.
• Platinum Sponsors; Glam Adelaide, Showcase SA, I Choose SA business directory and Adelaide Venue Management
• Gold Sponsor; Blackbird IT
• Silver Sponsors; Scammells Auctioneers & Appraisers and The Online Director
• Media partners; 7 News, Glam Adelaide, Triple M, SAFM and Southern Cross Austereo
• Chefs; Gavin Robertson, Simon Bryant and Paul Baker
• Supporters; Black Squid Design, McCourts, Little Lion PR, Adelaide Expo Hire, PFD Food Services, Out in the Paddock, Bank SA and WP Clinic
• Beverage Sponsors; Beresford, Bickfords, Dunes & Greene, Hentley Farm, Howard Vineyard, Kirrihill Wines, Manyara Wines, Pernod Ricard Winemakers, Seppeltsfield Barossa, Twenty Third Street Distillery, Sparkke, Ubertas Wines and Yalumba
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