Good Friday Appeal: Corowa’s Shear for the Kids raises $17k for the RCH

After a stunning $105,000 contribution from the small town of Corowa last year, a team of local shearers and farmers decided to join and pool funds for a good cause.

The Royal Children’s Hospital famously plays host to a meerkat exhibit, designed to give unwell kids something to focus on besides their health — but maybe the board is considering throwing a shearing shed into the Parkville mega-hospital after yesterday.

Killarney, just outside of Corowa, recently played host to Shear for the Kids, where 50 volunteers took up handpieces to shear 700 sheep, raising money for the RCH’s Good Friday Appeal.

Good Friday Appeal, shearing at "Killarney", Mulwala, NSW. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Organiser Abby Talbot and her husband Steven have a shearing contracting business in Corowa, and wished to add to the town’s incredible $105,000 contribution last year with their decidedly rural donation drive.

“We had a chat with our staff to see if they wanted to work an extra day,” said Abby. “What we thought was going to be ten-odd people turned out to be 50.”

“We’ve managed to raise about $17,000. Local farmers have been popping their head in and giving cash donations, and the local RSL club in Corowa donated $6000.

“Word of mouth spread and people contacted us to help, we didn’t have to ask anyone for anything.”

The whole team. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

The care and services provided at the Royal Children’s Hospital are of particular importance to the Talbots, as their second son Ollie was diagnosed with a heart condition in the womb and required open heart surgery just three days after being born.

“The minute you walk in the door (at the RCH) you feel like you’ve got support everywhere you go, from the ground up they just really took care of us,” Abby said.

Now four years old, Ollie joined in at today’s event with a teddy bear and wooden handpiece.

“He lives and breathes shearing,” said Abby.

The incredible support of her community was not lost on Abby, who noted that many other local families had their own experiences with their children at the RCH.

“It’s just such a good community to be a part of,” she said. “People just ring you and ask what you need — it’s a feeling you can’t even describe.”