The tenth annual Beyond Bitumen rally recently completed another successful year of fundraising for Beyond Blue.
This year’s charity run raised over $500k as participants took the scenic route from Gundagai to Goulburn via Echuca, Griffith and Young.
One rally participant was Car Two – a 1992 V8 Ford Fairlane sponsored by the Cullen family’s Bay Hotel at Bonnells Bay, the Australian Hotel in Young and the Tahmoor Inn. It raised a generous $6,260.
“Thank you to everyone for your support,” said Car Two representative Anthony Cullen, of the Bay Hotel. “There were no problems with the car this year, and we made it!”
In the cult movie, the Blues Brothers are tasked with raising funds to save an orphanage. This was the motivation to paint the vehicle to imitate an American police car.
Australian Hotel owner Jamie Canellis, and GM and licensee of the O’Hara Group’s Tahmoor Inn, Sarah Hanania, echoed the sentiments.
“There are people in our communities that experience ’blue days’ and they often come into the pub to talk about things going on in their life,” said Hanania.
“It was great to be involved and support Car Two in the Beyond Bitumen Car Rally because the funds are going towards Beyond Blue, which give professional help when they need more than a pub yarn.”
The ongoing success of the rally, which has raised over $3 million to date, highlights the importance of community engagement around mental health issues.
The rally participants also took part in the Blue Tree Project, a world-wide initiative to spark dialogue about mental health by painting a tree blue. The tree on this occasion was located on Quamby Lane outside of Young.
