MORE than $50,000 has been raised for Lifeline following a friendly tennis game between a number of well-known Newcastle faces.
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On Sunday, March 13, a new feature was added to Honeysuckle on the Newcastle foreshore – a pop-up tennis court.
This set the stage for former Newcastle Knights star Clint Newton, Tim and Anna from The Bachelor, Karstan and Maxine from The Block, Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp and Hunternet chief executive Tony Cade to take on Australian tennis great and ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Ambassador Alicia Molik in a series of best-of-three games.
It came as part of the ANZ Charity Tennis Challenge, which raised $50,000 for Lifeline Newcastle and Hunter.
ANZ regional executive Paul Cragg said he was delighted to present Lifeline Newcastle and Hunter with the cheque, describing the day as “a great success and an example of the strong community spirit that embodies the region”.
“It was fantastic to see the close-knit Newcastle community rally together to watch and play some very entertaining tennis, all in the name of raising much-needed funds for an organisation that does so much good in the community,” Cragg said.
For every point won by the celebrity challengers, ANZ donated $250 to Lifeline’s Newcastle arm, which provides crisis support and suicide prevention services across the Newcastle region, helping to save up to 5000 lives a year.
ANZ general manager for regional business banking, Christine Linden, said the event was a symbol of the institution’s commitment to regional communities.
“It was a fantastic day and I’m thrilled that through the collective efforts of the people involved we could support the critical services that Lifeline provides within the Newcastle and Hunter region,” she said.