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Four Harcourts agents are taking charity fundraising to the next level: sky-high.
Tess Fearon from Harcourts Newcastle, along with Pete Stievenard, Cath Turrin and led by pilot Mark “Westy” Westcott have formed team Westy’s Wizards, competing in the Lottery Office Outback Air Race 2022, which kicked off on 29 August.
Along with 34 other teams, Westy’s Wizards has travelled over 3,900 kilometres from Darwin, then along the Queensland coast, turning inland and crossing the outback before reaching their last leg, Coffs Harbour in NSW.
Mr Westcott, who marks his third year competing in the air tilt, stated that the event works on more than one level.
“The opportunity to see parts of Australia seldom visited by many, have fun, and raise money for a special cause,” he said.
Now in its 11th year, the time-trial air race aims to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (RFDS), an organisation that aims to reduce the disparity of health service access.
Each year, the RFDS helps over 370,000 patients, conducts 18,000 remote clinics and flies over 27 million kilometres to deliver emergency medical and primary health services to areas with no access to health care facilities.
The Outback Air Race is held every three years to raise funds towards outfitting RFDS aircraft with essential medical equipment, vital for treating sick and injured patients across the country.
However, due to health mandates and travel restrictions in 2021, the race committee pushed the event back 12 months.
While the main event has been pushed back and only given clearance to take off on 1 May 2022, competing teams from all over Australia and New Zealand spent 12 months in the lead-up to the race to raise funds for RFDS.
Westy’s Wizards took on a fundraising target of $8, 000 — a goalpost the team overwhelmingly surpassed by raising $40,000 as of 30 August.
The staggering figures come as a result of support flooding in for the cause, particularly from major sponsors such as Harcourts Australia.
“Harcourts Australia are thrilled to support our very own amazing Tess Fearon and the whole Westy’s Wizards team,” remarked Harcourts Australia chief executive Adrian Knowles.
Ms Fearon shared that they had to use their imagination and employ some outside-the-box thinking in order to achieve the outstanding fundraising results.
She shared that the community rallied behind their cause. “After a successful event at the Newcastle Surf Club, we next had 52 people for a fundraiser in Dungog, a country town where two of us used to live. We did a three-course Christmas-in-July lunch, had raffle items and a great auction,” Ms Fearon said.
While Ms Fearon has mixed feelings of nervousness and excitement over the race, she said that they have made the preparations for the 13-day expedition.
“I have contacted all Harcourts offices nearby any of the towns we land in to refuel or stay the night,” Ms Fearon shared.
Mr Knowles wished Ms Fearon and the rest of the Westy’s Wizards a “fantastic journey”.
“Thank you for supporting such a valuable service that so many rural Aussies rely on,” he added.
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