Victoria Racing Club CEO Dale Monteith, Professor Peter Ebeling and Western Health CEO Kathryn Cook couldn’t believe the amount raised for AIMSS. 76032 Picture: ANNETTE DE JAGER
By Laura Wakely
RACEGOERS raised $104,865 for Western Health’s Community Race Day last month.
It’s the highest figure the day has ever raised since its 2006 inception, during which the event raised $8900 for a humidicrib for the special care nursery at Sunshine Hospital.
In 2009 the event raised $41,000 to refurbish the children’s ward, which sees around 26,000 kids every year.
The money raised from last month’s family day at the races will go towards the Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science (AIMSS).
Based at the Western Centre for Health Research and Education at Sunshine Hospital, AIMSS is a national reference centre for research into bone, muscle and joint disorders.
AIMSS Director Professor Peter Ebeling said the race day, which was supported by Victoria Racing Club (VRC), could “not have gone any better”.
“I’m incredibly pleased and so grateful that Western Health and the VRC were supported,” Prof Ebeling said.
“It (the amount raised) was unexpected.”
The funds will go towards establishing the centre, which already has ties with Oxford University in the UK and Mayo Clinic in the USA, including the creation of an international research fellowship.
Prof Ebeling said AIMSS was unique in that it was uniting specialists from all fields, including the University of Melbourne, Victoria University and Western Health, so they could work together on community-based programs to prevent diseases like osteoporosis and arthritis, with a strong contribution from exercise and nutritional aspects.
The race day, Prof Ebeling said, was about more than just money for research.
“It’s raising community awareness,” he said.
“We want this really to be an institute that extends out to the local community.”
