Town of Texas raises $38,000 for Queensland Police Legacy at charity golf day
A tiny Queensland town with a population of just 800 has raised an extraordinary $38,000 for the families of fallen police officers.
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A tiny country Queensland town with a population of just 800 has raised almost $40,000 for the families of fallen police officers, more than tripling previous fundraising efforts.
The 14th Texas Police Charity Golf Day, held on November 2, raised $38,000, with the bulk of the money going to Queensland Police Legacy, which supports dependant families of deceased police officers.
Previous events had not managed to raise over $10,000.
Organised by Texas Police Senior Constable Rhys Bennett and Sergeant Mark Fielding, the golf day featured a field of 148 players as well as raffles and auctions.
“We’re just in awe of the support that we received from the community,” Snr Const Bennett said.
“I don’t think they’ll ever quite understand the effect that it does actually have on the community.”
Snr Const Bennett and Sgt Fielding only arrived in Texas – located on the Queensland border with NSW about 110km southeast of Goondiwindi – in March and began planning the charity day in August.
While heavily supported by local businesses, Sgt Fielding and Snr Const Bennett looked further afield for donations, including Queensland Rugby League, Village Roadshow Theme Parks and Telstra.
“NRL clubs came on board donating specific items of memorabilia that we managed to get framed and donate,” Snr Const Bennett said.
“So all these little items just all added up and enabled us to be able to build the day and have those items there for auctions.”
Snr Const Bennett said after gaining valuable experience organising their first charity golf day, they would aim higher in 2025.
“I do want to make it a big one and see if I can try and beat myself – $50,000 would be awesome target.”
“The exposure from last year is going to help tremendously leading into this year’s event. We can only do better, I reckon.”
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