THE 90th anniversary of the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal (GFA) will look different this year for local branches which have been forced to come up with creative ways to help raise money.

The Macarthur and Willaura branches have had to plan their Good Friday fundraising activities in accordance with ongoing changes in COVID-19 restrictions.

The Willaura branch has been forced to cancel its annual Family Fun Day, as regulations have made the event too hard to organise confidently in a safe manner.

Royal Children’s Hospital GFA Willaura branch president, Jo Byron believed the current climate, along with significant ongoing redevelopments at the Willaura Recreation Reserve, had forced its cancellation.

“It’s disappointing and very challenging with the rec reserve having a major upgrade, it was just too hard this year,” she said.

Instead of the family day, the branch will run a virtual tin shake, raffle at the Willaura Bakery, and a silent wood auction with five different wood donators.

“It’s a very good cause and we’ve been going for many years now,” Ms Byron said.

“We’ve had lots of donations coming in this year and a lot of bids so far on the silent wood auctions - we’ve had up to $2000 in deposits in the last week.”

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