Friends of Old Bega Hospital Newsletter February 2022

Good news on funding

The results of the Black Summer Bushfires Recovery grants program were announced yesterday, 15 February. The Old Bega Hospital Reserve Land Manager (RLM) got a grant of $1.5m to enable it to complete restoration of the OBH main building. That adds to existing grants of $3m from the Regional Communities Development Fund and close to $0.5m from Crown Lands.

Because of the shortfall of available funding until that grant was approved, and following an unsuccessful application to the Bushfires Local Economic Recovery program in 2021, the RLM had gone through an extensive process of dividing the restoration project into stages. That required amendments to the architectural documentation, the development application, the construction certificate, the cost estimates, the existing grant funding deed and all the tender documentation. The request for tenders was just about to be advertised. That work will now need to be un-done to reintegrate the stages back to a single project. Let's hope that can be done more quickly than the work of putting it into stages. We should see a completed building some time in 2023. Yippee!

Autumn Raffle

The Friends of the Old Bega Hospital will continue to raise funds for the community to fit out the completed building. The Autumn raffle is under way. First prize: $500 Mitre 10 gift voucher. Tickets $2. More info (poster, 100kB).

Booklets of 20 tickets are available for Friends of the OBH who can sell tickets among family and friends. Email Val at froglittle@bigpond.com to arrange pick up of a booklet.

Bega Show

The Friends will have a table in the main pavilion at the Bega Show this weekend. There will OBH tee shirts, and tote bags for sale - get some while stocks last. And Autumn Raffle tickets.

It may not be too late to book a table for OBH user groups, or any other group for that matter, in the Show pavilion to demonstrate, display and sell your artisan creations. For information or to book your group's table, email Barb Rogers - kingswood_rogers@outlook.com.

If you have an hour or two to spare tomorrow, Thursday, 17 February, and would be able to help with yarn bombing parts of the show ground, come along any time between 9.30am and 2.00pm. All gear provided, even morning tea! Bring your own sandwiches for lunch. Any questions, email Val at froglittle@bigpond.com.

Friends Events Committee

The monthly meeting of the Friends Events Committee will be held in the OBH precinct Nurses' Quarters, on February 28, at 10.30am. Anyone interested in helping the committee to promote the OBH will be most welcome.

Memberships

You can now pay Friends membership subscriptions by credit card from the OBH web site. The catch? It is done through TryBooking and they sting you 50 cents extra for a 'ticket'. You can still pay the regular $10/year subscription by direct debit with no surcharges.