Koroit cancer support foundation gets major fundraising boost

For people living in regional south-west Victoria, the closest brand-new cancer care is often hours away in Melbourne. A diagnosis puts families through the upheaval of their lifestyle, income and family unit. 

The Crystal Lee Foundation provides support to families in these situations, and this year they have been named as the beneficiary of the Ray White Charity Ball. To coincide with the event, they are hosting Event Wear Extravaganza in Koroit, a one-day formal wear pop-up boutique to dress attendees and raise funds for families in need. 

Support coming: Emmalee Bell, executive officer for the foundation, said finding out the foundation had been selected was an emotional moment. 

🗣️: “There were tears, I must say. It means so much. We’re a small foundation and we don’t receive any ongoing government support. All the money we use to operate comes from community support. This [the charity ball] gives us an avenue to have support and raise significant money in one night.”

A word on Crystal: The foundation was created to honour the legacy of Crystal Lee Johnson, a teenager from Port Fairy who passed away in 2019 following a battle with an aggressive and rare form of cancer. 

Bell told the Brolga the experience of Crystal and her parents, Jo and Trevor, was horrendous. 

🗣️: “One of the things she [Crystal] wanted to achieve from her life was to help families like hers,” Bell said. “What a lot of people don’t realise is young people can’t be treated locally. They’re not funded or equipped for paediatric cancer treatment, so the vast majority have to go to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.” 

Bell said the extensive travel and associated cost puts significant stress on families already going through an unimaginable ordeal. 

• “You’re learning a whole new world and a whole new language, on top of all the fear of having a child with cancer.” 

The work: The foundation was created to help alleviate some of this stress, providing free bereavement counselling and working hands-on with families. . 

• Bell said there is a lot of stigma about accessing the public mental health system for something like grief, as many suffering a loss don’t consider the experience the same as mental illness or trauma. 

• The foundation appoints a dedicated family support volunteer to a family, organises cleaners for the family home and provides fuel and supermarket vouchers. 

Thrifty for a cause: Crystal loved op shopping, especially with her mother Jo. The foundation opened the The Crystal Lee Foundation Op Shop, in Koroit, several years ago, and Bell said it has quite the cult following.

🗣️: “People come from Port Fairy and Melbourne and Warrnambool. Jo [Crystal’s mother] is the manager and continues to drive success. She’s done an incredible job of creating an op shop that isn’t your usual op shop. People go in and don’t realise it’s an op shop - it looks like a boutique." 

The main event: The upcoming Event Wear Extravaganza will also spotlight pre-loved clothes. 

It’s a one-day event that will feature an entire array of formal dresses, and even a few brand new wedding gowns gifted from a nearby bridal store that closed down. 

🗣️: “I have had a preview, they are absolutely gorgeous,” Bell said. “Quite a lot there that still have the tags, and a few designer names.” 

The foundation has also made an effort to ensure all sizes, age groups and styles will be catered for at the event. 

The event will be hosted at Koroit Theatre on Sunday June 7, from 1pm to 4pm. You can book your tickets here.