On Saturday, May 4th, Our Community Cares hosted the dazzling “Black and Bling” fundraising event at the St Marys Band Club, bringing together a vibrant community dedicated to supporting Our Community Cares. This volunteer-based charity tirelessly fundraises throughout the year to aid the Penrith Local Government Area (LGA), ensuring all contributions stay within the community to support the lonely, infirm, aged, and young adults without any expenditures on wages or committee payments. Mobiddiction was one of the supporters who attended this event to support this community initiative.
The event was a testament to the community’s spirit, with attendees from various local sectors, including community supporters, leaders, and health and service-based businesses. The night featured hampers, spot prizes, raffles, and prizes generously donated by local and other businesses, all working towards the common goal of raising funds for the Penrith and Nepean LGA communities.
Kris Gauci, the founder of Our Community Cares in Penrith, has been instrumental in the implementation of PatientVR at Nepean Hospital’s palliative care unit, thanks to the generous donation of three MetaQuest headsets. This initiative highlights the charity’s commitment to enhancing patient care through innovative solutions.
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- The OCC Black and Bling Set Up
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- PatientVR set up OCC event
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- Experiencing Virtual Reality at the event
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- Event set up prep PatientVR virtual reality
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- Mike Vasavada with PatientVR MetaQuest headset
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- OCC fund raising event Nepean Black and Bling
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- Dr Sundar OAM & Mike Vasavada with Family
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- Maryann From Nepean Hospital and Mike Vasavada
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- Kris Gauci and Mike Vasavada Founder of Mobiddiction and PatientVR
Mike Vasavada, founder of Mobiddiction and PatientVR, attended the event with his family and team members to provide demonstrations of PatientVR to interested attendees. As part of the fundraising efforts, Mobiddiction also donated a four-night stay at Amaroo Resort on Trinity Beach, Cairns, as one of the raffle prizes.
Our Community Cares expressed gratitude to Hon. Karen McKeown OAM, MP for Penrith, and VIP guests including Councillor Todd Carney, Mayor, Councillor Sue Day, Councillor Robin Cook, and Councillor Marlene Shipley, for their support.
Councillor Robin Cook shared on OCC Facebook, “So much goodwill and fun today at the annual High Tea for Our Community Cares. Much-needed funds were raised to purchase a CO2 monitor for the Children’s Ward and an ECG for the A70 Cancer Ward at Nepean Hospital. A huge thank you to this wonderful charity led by the fabulous Kris Gauci and the volunteers who do so much for the community.”
Mike Vasavada added, “Kudos to the team at Our Community Cares for their wonderful initiative to raise funds for the local Nepean and Penrith community, including Nepean Hospital. We are blessed to be part of this initiative. Thank you to Kris, the OCC team, and all those involved, including the volunteers and all in healthcare.”
PatientVR, initially implemented at Nepean Hospital’s Palliative Care, has garnered interest from other states. Queensland has adopted it in the Logan Palliative Care and other hospitals. The PatientVR virtual reality experience, developed in Australia, is a unique hands-free, immersive experience promoting well-being and positive intervention through virtual reality.
You can find out more about Our Community Care Penrith here:
https://ourcommunitycares.org.au/
If you are interested in a demo of PatientVR here. You can get in touch here.
