A new fundraising event, which will put the ‘fun’ in fundraiser, will be taking over the car park of St Marys Leagues Club next weekend.
Taking place on Saturday, April 6, the inaugural Herbie Derbie is an exciting new fundraiser based around radio controlled (RC) car racing.
30 RC cars, which will be sponsored by various businesses, will go head to head to support Variety – the children’s charity.
Organised by Paula Graham from Herbie Goes Variety, the Herbie Derbie is a fundraiser like no other – pitting businesses against one another in all in the name of charity.
“We’re doing this for Australian kids, so why not feel like a kid again?” Graham told the Weekender.
“I do the Variety Bashes each year and my car is Herbie the Love Bug. This will be my 10th year doing it and I wanted to make it special. Charity golf days are always a bit of a struggle, so we thought we’d do something different, and it’s been a raging hit.”
Initially Graham was hoping to attract 14 businesses to sponsor a RC car, but she ultimately landed on 30, which blew her away.
“I’m very happy with the turnout,” she said.
“Each car costs $1200, which includes the car done up in your company logo as well as tickets to the fundraising presentation dinner at the club later that night.
“The money will go towards Variety and, because of the positive response, I’ll be able to enter into not one but two Variety Bashes this year.”
To make the Herbie Derbie a reality, Graham called upon Penrith District Nitro Racing (PDNR) to help facilitate the RC race at the event.
Speaking with the Weekender, PDNR Competition Secretary Tony Firth said the local club jumped at the chance to get involved in the Herbie Derbie.
“PDNR have been running for 25 years and we love getting on board with this kind of thing,” he said.
“The club has a long history of doing community-based events as much as we can. We hadn’t done one in a while, so when Paula came to us with her idea, we jumped at it.”
Firth and his team will be tasked with setting up the temporary track on race day and they’ll also help with making sure all the drivers are up to speed with their RC car to give them the best chance of winning as possible.
“Our members along with RC enthusiasts from other clubs will be partnered up with a business to show them the ropes before they drive the car,” Firth said.
“After practice and the qualifying races, we’ll have 10 cars at a time on the track and there will be three separate finals.
“Whoever does the best out of those three finals will be declared the overall winner.”
Out of fairness, all cars will be identical mechanically expect for their exterior which will differ depending on the business’ design.
Spectators are welcome to attend next weekend’s Herbie Derbie in St Marys, with opportunities for locals to get involved as well.
“There will be some side activities where people can make a small donation and have a drive through a basic course that we will set up. The fastest time will get a prize,” Firth said.
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender’s Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.
