Thu, Aug 8, 2024 7:00 AM
Grocery grab raises $10k for school
Murchison Four Square owner Janelle Hocking with Koby Morgan who sold the most tickets during a recent fundraiser and won a 30-second grocery grab worth $200. Photo: Supplied.
Eloise Martyn
The chance to win a 60-second grocery grab at Murchison Four Square has raised more than $10k for Murchison Area School’s sports and camp fund.
Murchison Four Square owners, the Hocking family, had heard of other Four Squares supporting their communities through grocery grab competitions, so investigated the idea.
“We spoke with other store owners to learn how they organised it,” Janelle Hocking explains. “Given the rising cost of living, we understand families face challenges covering expenses like school camps and trips, so we thought partnering with the school would be a great initiative.”
During the Murchison grocery grab, tickets were sold for a chance to win a 60-second shopping spree valued at $1000. Additionally, there was a special prize: the person who sold the most tickets won a 30-second grab worth $200.
The winner of the main grocery grab decided to pay it forward by donating their winnings back to the school.
“It was a selfless act,” Janelle says. “Since the school didn’t need groceries either, we decided to proceed with the grab and convert the total value of items grabbed into a cash donation for the school.”
Combined with the proceeds from raffle ticket sales, the event raised $10,500 for the school.
Principal Andy Ashworth says it had been a wonderful event for the school.
“Our local Four Square and its owners came to us with the idea and I was obviously very much in favour. We quickly agreed on where any potential money raised would be used as we did not want it to just go in the ‘normal pot’. It was decided that it would be split 50/50 into school sports trips and camps for Years 1-8. In this way, every single student in the school would benefit from it.
“Our community had an awesome response. Even better is that the Four Square has offered to make this an annual event.”
Koby Morgan, 13, had the honour of selling the most raffle tickets and enjoyed a thrilling 30-second grocery grab valued at $200.
“It was exciting to win... I grabbed 16 blocks of chocolate, drinks, and beef jerky. I’m glad we raised so much money for school sports trips,” he says.
As for the chocolate haul, Koby distributed five blocks to schoolmates, gave five to his family, and kept six for himself, with just two blocks left to enjoy later.
