Hobart Greyhound Racing Club has presented a $15,000 cheque to the family of Baylee Robertson, who has cerebral palsy, to help pay for a wheelchair-accessible van.
The cheque was presented at a special event at the club on Thursday night, after clubs across the state came together to raise the money.
The donation completes the family’s $65,000 fundraising goal, allowing them to buy and modify the van.
Baylee requires full-time care and her family currently has to lift her and her wheelchair in and out of the car for every trip.
“Getting Baylee where she needs to go isn’t always easy and having a suitable wheelchair accessible van will make such an enormous difference to her life and to our entire family,” her mother told the crowd.
“It means safer and easier trips to hospital, less stress getting Baylee in and out of the car and the opportunity to get out together as a family without it being such a challenge.”
She said there had been times when the goal “felt so very far away”.
“Thank you for seeing Baylee, for supporting our family and for helping us give her the opportunities she deserves,” she said.
Club spokeswoman Claire Robins said the Robertson family was “a beloved part of our Tasmanian greyhound racing community”.
“This is what so many people have forgotten during the recent debate about greyhound racing, that this is, at the end of the day, a community organisation that supports each other through hard times,” she said.
“We want to thank all our donors and everyone who supports Greyhounds Tasmania.”
Labor MP Shane Broad, who attended the event, said the club was “more than just about racing, it’s about community”.
“This is a fundraiser that’s done by a community to try and help one of their own, Baylee, get a van so she can get to appointments,” he said.
