Last Sunday, November 8 was 'The Day the Teddy Bears had their Picnic', and Kurrajong North Richmond Rotary hosted a special event to mark the occasion at McMahons Park, Kurrajong.
The Rotary hosted a Teddy Bears' Picnic complete with games and yummy food hampers, including a sausage sizzle, for over 100 local residents, visitors and guests.
The highlight of the day was presenting Interplast with a labour of love; over 200 hand-knitted Trauma Teddy Bears for young children undertaking life changing surgery were presented.
Interplast was also presented with a donation of $2,500 to go towards this amazing program thanks mainly to the fundraising efforts of Rotarian, Robyn Bible.
Ms Bible, arranged the event, handed over the teddies to John Dodd, Chair of the Rotary Committee of Interplast and a Board Member of Interplast.
Mr Dodd said he had supported Interplast for many years, but had been particularly involved since 2016 when he organised and assisted a workshop in Samoa attended by surgeons from across the South Pacific to be trained by operating with volunteer specialists from Australia on patients who had multiple diagnoses.
Ms Bible also presented a cheque for $2,500 on behalf of Kurrajong North Richmond Rotary, to Dr Michael McGlynn, Vice President of Interplast, who has been on over 35 surgical tours, usually of two weeks each.
On those tours, teams of volunteer plastic and reconstructive surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, and allied health professionals usually provide about 50 life-changing operations and provide medical training in 17 countries across the Asia Pacific region.
Dr McGlynn is a Paediatric Plastic Surgeon specialising in repairing cleft lips and palates based at RPA Hospital. He is accompanied on the Interplast surgical tours by his wife Deirdre who is his volunteer nurse.
Ms Bible thanked the ladies from the Friends of Rotary group, the Knitting clubs from Hawkesbury Combined Probus and North Richmond Probus clubs as well as various other groups including members of the Kurrajong Baptist Church.
