She had collapsed with a heart attack in Coles last week and police, the first responders, were able to get the club’s defibrillator from the hotel and keep the woman’s heart beating until an ambulance arrived.
And the Cal’s 67 social club members are having the time of their lives because their $2500 investment in the defib five years ago had just saved one.
The club has been running for 15 years and meets every Friday night for a fundraiser and get-together – with the occasional extra Tuesday gathering with a focus on social connection more than saving.
Caledonian Hotel publican Dave Cunningham is also club president, with Wendy Bennett as secretary and Karen Byron the self-appointed chief cook and bottle washer.
Club members even have their own hot pink polo tops to help them stand out in the Cal crowd.
“We share the Friday night fundraising,” Karen explained.
“One Friday is the social club, one is for Rotary, one for the Customs House Art Gallery group and the fourth is for the Echuca-Moama Theatre Company,” she said.
“We run raffles all night and once we have paid for the prizes, the profit goes into the bank and when we have got enough, we either buy something or donate to organisations such as ERH, CLRS, Johnno’s Run, Anglicare and flood relief for example.”
And the club isn’t mucking around – each year it donates hundreds, and often thousands, of dollars – peaking with $3200 in 2021, topped up with an extra $2110 from its Christmas-New Year raffle, which went to the Cancer and Wellness Centre.
Last year it provided more than $2000 – which included an annual commitment to the Good Friday Appeal as well as $1255 to the Flanno for a Farmer fundraiser.
So far this year it has already handed over $2200 to support the installation of CCTV in Echuca’s commercial precinct, cancer and Parkinson’s fundraisers and the Good Friday Appeal.
“We bought the defibrillator in 2021 at the height of COVID as our bank balance kept growing but there was very little happening to donate to,” Karen explained.
“And when we found out it had saved someone’s life, we were just so excited – some of us even cried, and it gave us chills to know we had been able to help someone like this – we are all so happy for her.”
Although, Dave admitted he was a little taken aback when police came flying through the hotel door and right into the middle of Echuca Football Club’s Mad Monday celebrations.
He said the hotel was full of green – like a St Patrick’s Day that had arrived very early (or late) – and nearly everyone there had been celebrating since the club took out two footy and two netball grand finals the day before.
“If we hadn’t been in such a panic to get the defibrillator for them, I might have asked them to confirm if that would be their only supervisory visit for the day,” Dave laughed.
“But really, those police were the heroes, they knew how to find a defib, and how to use it and someone is alive because of that.”
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