Greyhound Racing NSW makes donation to Mark Hughes Foundation

The donation was raised through a variety of initiatives since April.

Australia.- Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) has announced it has donated AU$120,000 (US$78,571) to the Mark Hughes Foundation (MHF) from various initiatives. The largest contribution of AU$53,935 (US$35.314) was through the Red & Blue All November Through campaign, which concluded on Sunday.

In this initiative, each time a race was won by a dog wearing the red (number 1) or blue (number 4) rugs, GRNSW donated AU$161 to the MHF, representing the 161 NRL games Mark Hughes played in during his career. A total of 196 races were won by the red rug dogs and 139 by the blue rug dogs. 

Hughes said: “On behalf of the Mark Hughes Foundation, I want to say a huge thank you to Greyhound Racing NSW and everyone who got behind this incredible campaign. The support throughout November, and across the last six months has been outstanding, and to see it raise an amazing AU$120,000 is something we’re truly grateful for. 

“This initiative not only raised vital funds but also helped spread much-needed awareness about brain cancer right across the greyhound community which as we know reaches to all corners of NSW and across the country. Every dollar which was raised will go directly towards lifesaving research and supporting patients and families doing it tough. We can’t thank the industry enough for cheering on the red and blue, and for standing with us in our race to beat brain cancer.” 

Funds were also raised at Calcuttas and Sports’ Luncheons, from the sale of beanies during the Beanies for Brain Cancer week, individual club and participant donations, and AU$10,000 from the auction of the winning post at the final Dapto race meeting in September.

GRNSW also donated an initial AU$20,000 to the MHF when the partnership was announced at National Adoption Day in April, bringing the overall total contribution to the charity to AU$140,000.

GRNSW Chief Executive Officer Steve Griffin said: “I am so delighted that our industry was able to contribute in this way to such a worthy cause as the Mark Hughes Foundation. We know what an insidious disease this is, and through our partnership with the Foundation I was stunned to hear the statistic that brain cancer is the leading cause of death in children and adults under 40 years of age. 

“I hope that apart from the financial contribution we were able to play a small part in raising awareness around NSW for the Mark Hughes Foundation and the work they do in fighting to find a cure for brain cancer.”

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The donation was raised through a variety of initiatives since April. Australia.- Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) has announced it has donated AU$120,000 (US$78,571) to the Mark Hughes Foundation (MHF) from…