Fundraising dynamos Rochelle and Courtney Baker have won a Young Leaders Award.
By Paul Dunlop
HELPING others is a family tradition in the Baker household.
Dynamic brothersister duo Courtney and Rochelle Baker have been honoured for their part in an amazing fundraising effort that spans three generations.
The Caldermeade siblings won the Keep Australia Beautiful Young Leaders Award for their work on behalf of the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday appeal and other community groups.
The pair’s success was the standout result for Lang Lang, which had entered several categories in the annual awards presented by Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria.
Rochelle, 18, and Courtney, 20, have followed the example set by their late mother Sue and grandmother Margorie Stiles.
“Our mum and nana were very involved in the community,” Rochelle said.
“Nan loved the Good Friday Appeal and we wanted to keep their work going.”
Having helped with the fundraising all her life, Rochelle took over the role of coordinating Lang Lang’s appeal effort a couple of years ago and immediately enlisted her brother’s help.
“We had gone with Nan and Mum and got to know everyone, so we decided to keep their work going after they were gone,” Rochelle said.
In their first year – 2005 – the siblings raised $3000.
Rochelle said she would have been happy to reproduce that effort this year but did even better.
“We passed the previous year’s total by lunchtime. we ended up raising about $4000,” she said.
The three generations have between them generated about $118,000 for the Royal Children’s Hospital since Rochelle and Courtney’s grandmother first began collecting in 1983.
Rochelle said she was “stoked” to win the young leaders award, which puts her and Courtney into contention for the state final, announced next month.
The family is also heavily involved in the Country Fire Authority and Scouts.
Joy Adderley, who spearheaded Lang Lang’s tidy towns bid, was very happy to see the Bakers receive recognition that was “richly deserved”.
“It is fantastic for them. They are a great couple of kids,” she said.
