Hundreds of drivers hit the road to raise money for annual SA Variety Bash
Hundreds of drivers and their navigators are about to hit the road in South Australia's Riverland to raise money for charity. Teams taking part in this year's Variety Bash are taking on the challenge of driving old cars, sometimes on dirt tracks, from Renmark to the Gold Coast.
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TVTranscript
00:00The atmosphere down here is absolutely electric.
00:04There is 72 cars lined up behind me and they're definitely putting the fun in fundraising,
00:09that's for sure.
00:10We're starting here in Renmark today and they'll head up to Broken Hill for their first stop
00:15overnight as part of the Variety Bash, which is raising money for sick and disadvantaged
00:20children.
00:21There is 300 participants this year, which is great to see.
00:24There's characters from all walks of life.
00:26We have Finding Nemos, we have Nuns on the Run, we have Scooby Doo.
00:29Lots of locals here as well.
00:32One Riverland local couple and team that's participating today, I got to catch up with
00:36them earlier and here's a little bit about what they had to say for the race.
00:40So I've worked 28 years and I'm freshly retired, so I have a passion for children, so I just
00:48thought it would be great to give back to the community and support Variety and help
00:55the kids in need.
00:56We were lucky enough to raise nearly $35,000, which is pretty good because we only did it
01:02in six months, where everyone else had 12 months to raise the money.
01:05I think we're number one.
01:08Number one.
01:10So in terms of how the bash works, so all the cars here today, they have to be over
01:1425 years old, which adds to the fun of the event.
01:17It's taking on regional roads, so as I said, they start here in Renmark and they will finish
01:22in the Gold Coast, visiting regional outback towns along the way.
01:26Now as a reward for their adventures, they get to stop and meet some of the children
01:30that they've raised money for and they'll be giving out grants along the way as well.
01:34So last year's event actually helped 80,000 children in need and who are sick and disadvantaged
01:40and they're really hoping to achieve that again this year.
01:43And in terms of the cars, well they look like they're in pretty good condition, but it's
01:46safe to say that there's mobile mechanics, doctors, every service on hand just in case
01:51to make sure that they get over the finish line in one piece.
01:56For more information, visit www.fema.gov