A far cry from last year's live event which was cancelled due to torrential rainfall, this year saw the Unanderra Velodrome once again heaving with life as riders lapped the circuit with a healthy crowd enjoying the sunshine and cheering them on.
The Family Fun Day saw over 100 riders on track while families and people of all ages turned out to support and enjoy entertainment provided by Julian Bull Magic and Matildas Farmyard, along with the Illawarra Hawks and St George Illawarra Dragons who kept both little and big kids alike busy shooting and passing the day away.
Nobody went thirsty or hungry either with coffee and treats provided by Sarah's Coffee Van, amazing pizza from Steve's Mobile Woodfire Pizza and delicious donuts courtesy of Mini Donuts 4U. Corrimal Rotary Club were also busy cooking up a storm with their ever-popular BBQ turning out sausage sandwiches and bacon and egg rolls amongst other crowd favourites.
The day also featured both a Henna Tattoo station and Arts and Crafts stall adding even more colour and providing further family fun in between ride-sessions on the track.
The i98FM Street Fleet where also on track and our riders looked an absolute treat in their official event t-shirts provided by our Apparel Partner Indigo Wolf Sportswear.
Amongst notable riders and guests to grace the Velodrome and add their support were i98FM's Drive Show Announcer and Ride4Rotary Ambassador Maje Saba, Wollongong City Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbury, Member for Wollongong Paul Scully and Member for Cunningham Alison Byrnes who were joined by representatives of Illawarra's Rotary Clubs as well as SYFS Board representatives and CEO Narelle Clay.
Despite the rising cost of living and financial stress impacting so many across the community, the overwhelming generosity of the Illawarra once again shone through with a total of $55,270.50 being raised which saw $51,263,40 donated directly to SYFS after event costs.
These proceeds will contribute to funding SYFS Education, Employment and Training programs which remain largely unfunded, but provide a crucial component of SYFS overall support services in assisting to provide targeted career pathways leading to independent living and enhanced quality of life for vulnerable and underprivileged young people.
Several of SYFS young clients and relatives of staff were registered to ride across both the virtual and live format and raised incredible amounts of money for the very charity that supports them. This speaks volumes about the positive impact that these programs and services have on the lives of young people facing challenges which include family breakdown, domestic violence, sexual abuse, homelessness, drug and alcohol dependency and mental health issues.
SYFS would like to thank the Rotary Clubs of Wollongong, West Wollongong, Corrimal, Fairy Meadow, Kembla, Dapto, Shellharbour and Kiama for their continued commitment to supporting local youth at risk, along with Major Sponsors BluescopeWIN Community Partners and all of the amazing event sponsors and supporters.
Congratulations and thanks again to everyone involved and who played a role in organising and running such an amazing event.
We can't wait to do it all again next year!
