The annual Seeds Fundraising Dinner for Westside Community Care took place at the Spring Lake Hotel on June 10, pulling in over $50,000 for the Springfield charity.
This years annual event also held special significance with Westside Community Care after a tragic accident in the Springfield community that happened 20 years to the day.
Anne Marie Priggins was involved in a car accident that took the life of her 14-month-old baby Kylie, and the outpouring of love from the community during that time inspired Westside Community Care founder and pastor Phil Cutcliffe to expand their services around the community.
“At that time we didn’t know Anne-Marie or Brad and they didn’t have a lot of family close by,” Phil said.
“We decided to stretch out and help them, and an amazing thing happened when the community came together and helped with meals and all sorts of projects and they even helped buy a brand new car for the family.”
The pay it forward mantra that Westside Community Care works on, began with Anne Marie who would assist other families within the Springfield community who had lost a child.
“If anyone else lost a child in a similar or other manner whatsoever in the community, Pastor Phil seemed to call on me,” Anne Marie said.
“It helped us to give back to the community that supported us, and it helped us heal.”
The Seeds Fundraiser highlighted all the work that the volunteers at Westside Community Care do for the community and Phil believes the work is still there to be done.
“We’re passionate about letting everybody in this Greater Springfield surrounding community know that they’re not alone,” he said.
“In my mind, Westside Community Care is an army of locals and ordinary people who might need support themselves but at the same time realise that they have gifts and resources that they can use for people that need them.”
