"Cause I Can" Judith Cantor's fundraising projects

Making the most of our "muchness"

Last Thursday night, a number of people fell down the rabbit hole into the 3D, fantastical world of Alice in Wonderland a la Tim Burton in support of mental health charity, SANE Australia. And we did so in style - or not, as the case may be!

We had an Alice. We had two Mad Hatters. We had two White Rabbits. We had a March Hare. We had a King of Hearts. We had a Queen of Hearts and a Red Queen. We had a Cheshire Cat. It was quite the motley crew, really.

We were also lucky enough to have the support of quite a few companies who helped us in a number of ways.

Local costume hire store Fancy Shmancy showed SANE Australia significant financial support, and provided us with volunteers to help sell raffle tickets on the night. They also provided us with unbelievable eye candy with their magnificent costumes (which took out Second and Third places for 'Best Dressed'). www.fancyshmancy.com.au

Not only did face painting artists Face Focus come along to paint the faces of some of the guests on the night, they also kindly donated a unique raffle prize - a children's party photo shoot (RRP $150)! www.facefocus.com.au

Vodafone Foundation, corporate supporters of SANE Australia, donated an LG Chocolate phone for raffle (RRP $499), and also helped to select the 'Best Dressed' prizes.

Edifier donated a Luna 5 encore iF500 for raffle. It's an elegant all-in-one audio system offering uncompromised audio quality. As an iPod, iPhone or MP3 docking station, or when operated in FM radio mode, the simplicity of use, design and audio quality of the Luna 5 encore iF500 makes for an outstanding visual and audio experience. RRP $499. www.edifier-international.com

Funky hair studio Stevie English Hair donated not one but two hair make-overs (RRP $130) for raffle including an O&M treatment, cut, style and and blowdry. www.stevieenglish.com.au

Australian Brandenburg Orchestra donated a raffle prize of two A-Reserve tickets (RRP $220) to either their upcoming 'Baroque Tapas' concert on 17 March or their second Concert Series in May, Palazzo Baroque, featuring world-renowned violinist Federico Guglielmo. www.brandenburg.com.au

Organic chocolatiers Coccolo Chocolates donated 1.4kg of chocaholic bliss - guilt free!(RRP $80). www.cocolo.com.au

The Victoria Room supplied us with the 'Best Dressed' prize of High Tea for two at their Mad Hatter's Tea Party on Easter Sunday (RRP $76). To secure your own seat to this chocolate extravaganza, call (02) 9357 4488.
www.thevictoriaroom.com

Shashen donated a pair of beautiful pear-shaped drop earrings in semi-precious stones (choice of Carnelian, Clear or Onyx) and sterling silver wire
(RRP $145). www.shashenjewels.com

And last, but by no means least, CP Communications wrote and distributed a media release that secured SANE Australia print media coverage valued at $90,095 in the Sydney Morning Herald (Planner), Sun-Herald, Sunday Telegraph and the Wentworth Courier. The event was also promoted on www.timeoutsydney.com.au, www.filmink.com.au, www.mediasearch.com.au, www.myweekend.net.au and www.dailyaddict.com.au. Exposure like this for a small, independent charity like SANE is absolutely priceless! www.cpcommunications.com.au

A BIG thank you to all of them as well as Virtual Advertising for the online invitation and on-site banner, and Disney for providing the runner-up prizes for 'Best Dressed'.

The fundraising page is still active so feel free to add your valuable contribution to it -SANE needs all the money it can get to keep its Helpline open. www.everydayhero.com.au/judith_cantor_0.

And for the long-awaited photos by our talented photographer Katrucia, click here!

Curiouser and curiouser...

What has Judith been up to of late? 

Well, on top of preparing for the Little Black Dress Run this Saturday and pulling a team together and training for Kayak 4 Kids in March, I've been arranging a colourful fundraising event in support of national mental health charity SANE.

Thursday 4 March is a date you won't want to forget - or be late for. It's a very important date. It's the Australian Opening Night of Tim Burton's long-awaited feature film Alice in Wonderland and I've secured exclusive use of Gold Class at Event Cinema in Bondi Junction for a 3D screening!

It's a strictly dress-up affair and Dennis and his team from Face Focus have kindly donated their time (and face paints) to come along and transform everyone into Lewis Carroll's fantastical characters.

Fancy Shmancy Boutique Fancy Dress Hire are supporters too so be sure to visit their store for all your costume hire needs (91 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction - 9387 1330).

Tickets are available through www.whiterabbit.eventbrite.com and include a drink on arrival and canapes.

Remember to bring a few extra notes with you on the night though  - there will be a raffle with prizes from Edifier, Stevie English Hair, Cocolo Chocolates and more.

Thanks to CP Communications for their help in promoting the event to the media, and Virtual Advertising for the great invitation.

I look forward to seeing you incognito!