Angie Day for Clarence Valley Independent

Grafton Hockey Association recently hosted a highly successful “Doin’ it for Holly” Round on Saturday August 14.

The day is named in honour of Holly Butcher, a local Graftonian and hockey player who sadly passed away in 2018 at the age of 27 after a battle with Ewings Sarcoma. In her final days, Holly wrote a very moving letter titled “A bit of life advice from Hol” which she released publicly on Facebook.

One of Holly’s final requests in her letter was to encourage people to become blood donors, so one of the big focuses of the “Doin’ it for Holly” day was the “100 lives Challenge”.

The call was put out to try save 100 lives through blood donation, which equates to 34 new donations. The Red Cross tent was there booking appointments and while the final tally was not known at time of print, it is expected the GHA community has exceeded expectations.

Those who did not sign up on the day can still join the campaign and book an appointment under Hollys Red25 group. Luckily blood donation is one of the reasons you may leave home under the current COVID restrictions, so perhaps make use of the somewhat more flexible work hours while working from home and make a booking at Coffs Harbour blood donation centre.

The day was also a great community event for the association, with all ages joining in. The men’s C Grade competition shifted their games to Saturday afternoon on the grass, with some very entertaining and unpredictable hockey on display. There were plenty of dress ups and fundraising occurring throughout the day, with donations from members and GHA going to “Holly’s Rare Cancers Australia fund”. Anyone still wishing to donate can find the link on GHA Facebook.

And for anyone looking for some inspiration and perspective in their lives, why not Google search Holly Butcher and get “a bit of life advice from Hol”.

Take care of each other and be kind in these challenging times.

This article appeared in the Clarence Valley Independent, 25 August 2021.