The town of Waubra has rallied behind its littlest battler with a fundraising auction bringing in more than $80,000 to support baby Sasskiah Gallagher and her family.
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Sasskiah, 11 weeks, was born with three cancers in her tiny body and is one of only a handful of babies in the world to be born with her condition.
On Friday night the Waubra Football Netball Club was packed with close to 500 people for a fundraising auction organised by the Gallagher’s neighbour Laura Molloy.
“We haven’t got a final figure yet but we are over $80,000 which is pretty impressive,” Ms Molloy said.
“One of the highlights was having Sasskiah’s mum and dad there which was fantastic. I think they were quite overwhelmed by how much support the community showed for them.”
Parents Matt and Jess are split between running the family farm in Waubra, being with Sasskiah in the Royal Children’s Hospital, and caring for their five-year-old son Jax.
The family had some extra good news on Friday before the auction when doctors told them some spots on Sasskiah’s lungs were responding to treatment.
Among the scores of auction items donated for the event was a steer, which raised $2445, a red heeler puppy, labour and more.
“There were still people adding last minute stuff right up until we began,” Ms Molloy said. The auction ran for about three hours, wrapping up around 10.30pm.
The money raised will help support the family, and in talking to the gathered crowd parents Matt and Jess said some of the money would go toward setting up a research program at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
“The whole community being together gave the night such a good buzz and vibe,” Ms Molloy said.
“It could be the start of something for the community because everyone was so supportive and said it would be nice to have more of this. Whether we look at doing a once-a-year thing, a get together, it creates strong bonds and a strong community so it might become an annual get together to do something to raise funds.”
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