Bonnie Ross and Tandia Sharman have been raised on dairy farms at Heath Hill and Shady Creek respectively. The teenagers recently raised $400 to assist a dairy farmer in need.
Photo by
Jeanette Severs
Two teenagers recently stepped out of their comfort zone for the sake of compassion and to raise money for a dairy farmer in need.
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Bonnie Ross from Heath Hill and Tandia Sharman from Shady Creek are friends who have grown up on dairy farms and know it can sometimes be challenging.
The two 18-year-olds are also aware that the current drought in Gippsland, including in their own district, is a challenge to many in the dairy industry.
In July, Bonnie approached Sallie Jones, co-founder of Gippsland Jersey, and asked for her help to raise money to support a dairy farmer in need.
Bonnie said her idea was simple. She wanted to use one of the Gippsland Jersey caravan shops to make milkshakes and raise money.
She had chosen SnowFest, a community street fair at Warragul held in late July, as the venue for her endeavours.
She enlisted her friend, Tandia, to help her.
“I met Sallie for the first time on the day of SnowFest,” Bonnie said.
“Beforehand I’d phoned her and Steve (Ronalds) and talked to them about a fundraiser using the Gippsland Jersey caravan.
“We wanted to raise money to help a dairy farmer in financial need.”
Bonnie Ross from Heath Hill, Sallie Jones from Gippsland Jersey, Karen McLennan from GippsDairy, and Tandia Sharman from Shady Creek.
Photo by
Jeanette Severs
Sallie Jones and Steve Ronalds are co-founders of Gippsland Jersey, which produces award-winning milk and dairy products.
Sallie and Steve hadn’t met Tandia and Bonnie before they handed over their caravan and products, with trust for their enthusiasm.
“I met Sallie at Warragul when she drove in to SnowFest with the caravan,” Bonnie said.
“And then she helped Tandia and I set up the Gippsland Jersey caravan at SnowFest.”
From every milkshake sold during the evening event, the two young women wanted to donate $1 to their fundraising efforts.
“We didn’t know how hard we’d be working,” Tandia said. “We were busy all night.”
Bonnie and Tandia raised $400 during SnowFest.
At the recent Cream of the Crop conference, the pair spoke about their fundraising efforts in the closing moments of the conference.
They wanted to be able to donate the $400 to a deserving dairy farming family in Gippsland, but were stuck about how to identify someone.
GippsDairy general manager Karen McLennan offered to put them in touch with a dairy farming family who would appreciate the efforts of Bonnie and Tandia.
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