Bathurst High Campus bracing for a bigger and better Redtember next month

Bathurst High Campus will host Redtember for the sixth consecutive year, an event that raises money to support the Ronald McDonald House in Orange, which looks after patients and their families undergoing cancer treatment.

The school has managed to raise well over $100,000 since the first Redtember in 2018 and Bathurst High principal Ken Barwick said a number of a local businesses will be involved this year, by donating goods and items that will be auctioned off throughout the month.

Mr Barwick said Redtember would not be possible without the support of local businesses.

"We've had fantastic support from Bathurst businesses and I couldn't do it without them," he said.

"We might get the accolades but it's these businesses that deserve all the accolades because they're the ones that generate the prizes and items that are donated."

Bathurst High has already raised $4000 from the Astley Cup ball.

Throughout September, there'll be rolling auctions where people can bid for donated items like ride-on mowers, gym memberships, sporting memorabilia, overseas trips and other smaller items donated from Bathurst businesses.

Cityfit and Dedicated to Fitness (d2f) are one of the major sponsors for Redtember, with owner Mark Symons having already donated a number of gym memberships.

"It's incredible the amount of support that we've seen through the community and the work Ken has done in all facets of fundraising," Mr Symons said.

"It's super impressive. I have to say I'm blown away by the support that we can generate and that we can be a part of."

Mr Barwick said Redtember was launched by the school in 2018, after he saw a number of students needing to use Orange's Ronald McDonald House.

"When I arrived at Bathurst High in 2017, our school captain Scott Osborne was suffering and he needed to be at Ronald McDonald House. We've had several kids since then," he said.

"It was the kids saying that we need to do something to support our own and in 2018 we raised $4500.

"A year later it went to $9000 and then it was $22,000 in 2020, $33,000 in 2021 and $51048 in 2022.

"Last year's amount of money is significant because it's almost equal to dollar value of keeping a room open for 365 days, at $138 a night.

"It's people in Bathurst and further west that need Ronald McDonald House. To think that people don't have to worry about that financial burden while their child is sick is something special that we can help out."

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