MORE than 200 people enjoyed the benefits of recycling, reusing and raising money at the second annual The Power of Pallets cocktail and auction night on Friday.
Organiser Kate Fern said furniture, decorative items, cubby houses and even a guinea pig hutch sold at the gala SeaFM Cairns The Power of Pallets presented by Tony Nastasi of LJ Hooker Yorkeys Knob.
She said while final figures were still coming in, it looked like the second event raised more than the first in 2014, which raised $17,000 for the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation.
The Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal was full of stunning items, which all sold for as little as $5, while the hotly contested Tardis bookcase by Andy Toyne won the Lords Insurance award for highest fundraiser at $550.
The Power of Pallets recycling event ticks all the boxes for a great feel-good event, with funds raised going towards the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation.
About 140,000 tonnes of wood pallets and crates become landfill in Sydney alone every year. Around half the pallets produced to help transfer goods around Australia are intended to be used only once. Pallets that end up in Cairns are no exception.
“It is too expensive to ship back pallets after they have been used to transport goods to Cairns,” said Ms Fern.
The evening meal, complete with fruit fondue tower, was presented by the increasingly popular Eatos, which is furnished by The Power of Pallets.
Ms Fern, a working mum, said she chose the Foundation as the beneficiary because her family had benefited from using Cairns Hospital. “My son has epilepsy and the hospital has always been great to him and we all need the hospital at some stage in our life,” Ms Fern said.
Foundation CEO Tony Franz said he believed the event would continue to grow in future years. “This is the only event of its kind in Australia that we know of and we love that it is innovative and supporting Far North health services,” he said.
PHOTO: Major sponsor Tony Nastasi of LJ Hooker Yorkeys Knob helps a happy customer out to the car with her new guinea pig hutch.
For more information visit www.thepowerofpallets.org.au.
