Black and Bling Fundraiser: Supporting Our Community Cares

On Saturday, May 4, Our Community Cares hosted its dazzling Black and Bling fundraising event at the St Marys Band Club, bringing together a vibrant community committed to supporting a great local cause. This volunteer-run charity raises funds throughout the year to support people across the Penrith Local Government Area (LGA), with every dollar staying in the community to help the lonely, infirm, aged, and young adults. With no wages or committee payments, the charity ensures that donations go directly where they are needed most. Mobiddiction was proud to attend and support this important community initiative.

The event showcased the strength of the local community, with guests from a range of sectors including community supporters, local leaders, and health and service-based businesses. The evening featured hampers, spot prizes, raffles, and prizes generously donated by local and other businesses, all united by one goal: to raise much-needed funds for the Penrith and Nepean LGA communities.

Kris Gauci , founder of Our Community Cares in Penrith, has played a key role in the implementation of PatientVR at Nepean Hospital’s palliative care unit, made possible through the generous donation of three Meta Quest headsets. This initiative reflects the charity’s ongoing commitment to improving patient care through innovative solutions.

Mike Vasavada , founder of Mobiddiction and PatientVR , attended the event with his family and team to demonstrate PatientVR to interested guests. As part of the fundraising efforts, Mobiddiction also donated a four-night stay at Amaroo Resort on Trinity Beach, Cairns, as one of the raffle prizes.

Our Community Cares expressed its gratitude to Hon. Karen McKeown OAM, MP for Penrith, and VIP guests including Councillor Todd Carney, Mayor, Councillor Sue Day, Councillor Robin Cook, and Councillor Marlene Shipley, for their support.

Councillor Robin Cook shared on OCC Facebook : “So much goodwill and fun today at the annual High Tea for Our Community Cares. Much-needed funds were raised to purchase a CO2 monitor for the Children’s Ward and an ECG for the A70 Cancer Ward at Nepean Hospital. A huge thank you to this wonderful charity, led by the fabulous Kris Gauci, and the volunteers who do so much for the community.”

Mike Vasavada added, “ Kudos to the team at Our Community Cares for their wonderful initiative to raise funds for the local Nepean and Penrith community, including Nepean Hospital. We are honoured to be part of this initiative. Thank you to Kris, the OCC team, and everyone involved, including the volunteers and healthcare workers. ”

PatientVR, first implemented at Nepean Hospital’s Palliative Care , has since attracted interest from other states. Queensland has also adopted it at Logan Palliative Care and other hospitals. Developed in Australia, the PatientVR virtual reality experience offers a unique, hands-free immersive experience designed to promote wellbeing and provide positive therapeutic intervention through virtual reality.

You can learn more about Our Community Cares Penrith here:
https://ourcommunitycares.org.au/

If you are interested in a demo of PatientVR, please get in touch here .