An iconic Hunter charity fundraiser will hold its 10th anniversary event on Friday in honour of the late Meg Purser - the day that would have been Meg's 53rd birthday.
Divas on the Green is a networking event for women, which raises funds for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service and Hunter Breast Cancer Foundation (HBCF). It also involves a bit of golf.
Event organiser Michelle Faithfull hired a 400-square metre marquee for the grounds of Merewether Golf Course to accommodate the 200 people attending the sold-out event in a COVID-safe way.
Michelle has dubbed it "Meg's marquee" in honour of the businesswoman and Charlestown Woman of the Year, who tragically died of breast cancer this year.
Meg was a friend and colleague of Michelle, who conducted her public memorial service at Newcastle City Hall.
"I wanted to recognise Meg, particularly given Divas is on her birthday," Michelle said.
Meg worked tirelessly for the rescue helicopter and the breast cancer foundation.
"I first met her through my association with the helicopter service and sat on the HBCF board with her."
Meg was a regular attendee at Divas and "always offered her support and lent a hand with the event, in the same way she supported so many other organisations and causes".
"The marquee cost $11,000, but generous sponsors have covered that - some because it is honouring Meg."
Meg's husband Scott and parents Noleen and Bob will attend the luncheon as special guests.
Divas has raised $125,000 since 2011, which has been split between the rescue helicopter and breast cancer foundation.
Generous Folks
Generous shoppers in the Greater Newcastle region have raised more than $200,000 in a fortnight.
They've done so through Coles' Curing Homesickness fundraising campaign, a national initiative to help get sick kids home from hospital sooner and make their difficult stay far easier.
In Greater Newcastle, 13 of 31 Coles stores were among the top 20 leading fundraising stores nationally, with funds raised helping John Hunter Children's Hospital.
By purchasing a $2 donation card at Coles, shoppers were able to make an impact on children's lives with more than $1.1 million raised across Australia - surpassing expectations and breaking a national milestone.
The top fundraising stores were: Warners Bay ($15,024), Toronto ($12,421), Kurri Kurri ($10,955), Green Hills ($10,923) and Waratah ($9757).
Hidden Cameras
Seeing we've given Coles a free ad of sorts, we should probably say something about Woolworths.
Well, Woolies has revealed it has hidden self-checkout cameras.
A Woolworths spokesperson told Seven News that the "Pick List Assist" feature detects the type of fruit and vegetables being bought at self-serve checkouts.
This camera technology is actually part of the cash register's scanner.
When a piece of produce is put on the scales, it automatically detects which fruit or vegetable it is without the customer having to key in any words.
The technology is in 220 of Woolworths' 1000 stores. It's being progressively rolled out across the country.
Let this be a warning to you all: no more trying to pass off avocados as apples!
