Tag Archive for: Manning Valley

Colvin Community Award

This year marks a special milestone for Can Assist with the introduction of the Colvin Community Award, created in our 70th anniversary year to honour the long and proud association with the Colvin family. Inspired by Jean Colvin’s tireless work supporting people facing cancer, and strengthened through the ongoing commitment of Patron John Colvin, the award recognises quiet achievers whose sustained efforts keep local branches strong and country patients supported. 

Mudgee — Cudgegong Cruisers 

For nearly two decades, the Cudgegong Cruisers have turned their passion for motoring into a powerful force for good. Their annual Can Cruise – complete with BBQ, auction and a colourful convoy – has raised significant funds over the years, helping Mudgee residents access vital support during treatment. 

Parkes — Central West Car Club 

The Central West Car Club has also stood firmly beside its community for more than 15 years. Through ongoing shows and events, the club has contributed many tens of thousands of dollars, ensuring the Parkes Branch can assist locals with travel, accommodation, medication and other essentials during cancer treatment. 

Narrandera — Header Drivers Convention 

For over a decade, the Header Drivers Convention, driven by organiser Neil Seidel, has grown from a small local fundraiser to a major community event. Their efforts have resulted in substantial contributions that directly benefit Narrandera cancer patients. 

Manning Valley — Gary Bridge & Family 

Gary Bridge transformed personal heartbreak into community impact. In honour of his daughter, he created the Kristylea Bridge Charity Cup Football Day, later expanding his efforts to include a charity race day. Gary and his family have since raised an extraordinary total that has deeply strengthened the Manning Valley Branch. 

A Message of Thanks 

“Every one of these recipients reminds us what community truly means,” says Can Assist CEO, Nici Andronicus. “Their generosity may happen quietly, but its impact is loud and life‑changing. We are deeply grateful for the support they show to country people facing cancer.” 

 

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Manning Valley Branch Summer 2025-26 Highlights

2026 has started with very positive vibes for Can Assist Manning Valley. Our first celebration was to acknowledge Tanya and Gary Bridge who have raised $286,000.00 for Can Assist Manning Valley in memory of their beautiful daughter, Kristylea. This excellent effort has been recognised by Can Assist with the Colvin Community Award. We applaud the Bridge family, Taree City Bulls and also the Taree and Wingham Rugby League community for all that they do to help us assist local cancer patients.

Our second good news item is the opening of the new Cancer Care Clinic in Taree. This clinic will assist families across our region with the delivery of oncology and radiation treatment locally instead of having to travel to Newcastle and Port Macquarie. Three of our members, Lindy, Rhonda and Kay had a tour of the new facility. Thank you to all who made this facility a reality for the Manning Great Lakes area.

Manning Valley family turned league into a lifeline for cancer patients

Tanya and Gary Bridge with members of Can Assist Manning Valley, and Can Assist NSW outgoing executive officer, Emma Phillips at Club Taree for presentation of the Colvin Community Award. Picture by Julia Driscoll

 

It’s every parent’s worst fear – losing a child, no matter what their age.

Gary and Tanya Bridge had to face that nightmare when their daughter, Kristylea, lost her life to medulloblastoma, an aggressive and rare cancer, in 2013. She died only nine months after diagnosis, aged 26.

“As you can imagine we were completely heartbroken when Kristy passed, and the months leading up to her death were extremely difficult on all of us,” Kristylea’s brother, Todd, said in 2014.

When he said that, less than one year before the first anniversary of Kristylea’s death, the family was already working on creating a legacy in her name, even though they didn’t know that the legacy would grow the way it has.

In 2014, the inaugural Kristylea Bridge Charity Cup, a rugby league match between the Taree City Bulls (now Panthers) and the Wingham Tigers, to raise money for Can Assist Manning Valley.

Can Assist is a NSW charity which aims to help ease the financial burden of cancer patients in country NSW. Money raised at a branch level stays in the local community, helping local cancer patients.

“Organisations like Can Assist really make a difference to those who need it most in what is often the worst time of their life. We hope the games can generate some real support for the charity,” Todd said.

Going on 11 years, the Kristylea Bridge Charity Cup is a big event in the Group 3 rugby league calendar. To date, the charity day has raised in excess of $286,000.

Colvin Community Award

On Monday, February 9, 2026, Gary and Tanya were presented with an inaugural Colvin Community Award by Can Assist NSW’s outgoing executive director, Emma Phillips, and Can Assist Manning Valley.

“Can Assist celebrated our 70th year last year, and, in doing that we wanted to recognise those we call the quiet achievers in our communities,” Emma said.

Local branches of Can Assist nominated the awardees, and only four are being given out throughout NSW.

“This is an acknowledgement of – not so much the people on the committees that are doing the work that Can Assist does, but the volunteers in our local communities that are helping us do what we do,” said Can Assist Manning Valley treasurer Leanne Newman.

“And Gary was just a no-brainer. He will say it’s not just him, it’s a team effort – he, his wife Tanya, the whole Bridge family, and the Taree City Bulls all come together and do these events. And they finish each year, then they start planning next year. It’s a really big event.”

Gary was a former player for the Balmain Tigers and Eastern Suburbs, and he draws on his contacts in the rugby league world who are only too willing to donate big items for charity auctions.

“It probably helps being in the SportsPower industry, too – I’ve met a lot of people over the years that could supply merchandise for me to auction off and half on everything, so that’s been a great help as well”, Gary said.

e has a long association with the Taree club as a former player, and he also played for the Tigers. His son, Todd also played for Taree, while Gary’s nephew has played for the Tigers.

“The local support we get from the community in Taree and Wingham, it’s incredible, and that’s community support and spirit,” Gary said.

“It’s mind boggling, the the money that we’ve raised in a little country town.”

The Kristylea Bridge Charity Cup now also encompasses a race day with the support of the Manning Valley Race Club.

The next Kristylea Bridge Charity Cup match day will be in early August, 2026.

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Bronny’s Story

Bronny and her family had not heard of NETS when Bronny was diagnosed with Neuro-Endocrine Tumours in 2018. Bronny had felt unwell and was suddenly having tests at her local hospital, and then PET scans in Newcastle – the first of her traveling due to her cancer. Whilst Bronny was having her scans her husband and sister googled NETS and were in tears when Bronny returned to them. They had discovered that people die of NETS because it is not usually diagnosed until it had spread and was Stage 4. 

Bronny had surgery in POW Hospital in Sydney – they removed the tumour (10 times the size of a normal one and some of her lymph nodes. Once Bronny was sent home, she went to the local oncologist who said that from this stage it was just management – radiotherapy and chemo were not suitable for Bronny’s cancer. Fortunately, Bronny had met the only NETS nurse for all of Australia in 2019 (at the funeral of another NETS patient) when she was feeling unwell again. This lovely nurse helped Bronny overcome the bureaucracy and get to see the NETS multidisciplinary team at RNS Hospital in Sydney. A PET scan revealed a tumour in her heart and another one in her pancreas – which were inoperable and slow growing. Her cancer is not stable nor is it curable. 

Bronny’s treatment – she needs to take drugs to manage her hormones and the pain. She needs to watch what she eats. And she needs to go to RNS every 6 months for 3 days to have tests and see her cancer team.  With no family in Sydney, on top of the costs of fuel for the 640km round trip and the high hospital parking fees, Bronny must pay the costs of accommodation. So far Bronny has traveled 15,000kms for her cancer care. 

Bronny knew about Can Assist and how they had assisted a friend of hers, who was undergoing cancer treatment and had lost her source of income. Bronny started to support Can Assist in fundraising but “I never thought that I would be a person that would have to use their services, but they said that we are here for you. And the difference that Can Assist made for me, not just from support in travel and food vouchers, but the ladies themselves, has been incredible moving forward. I’ve always felt that there’s been people there that have literally had my back”.  

And this is important when “living without a cure”. Bronny has bad days but not a bad life. “I’m living to live and part of that is the people that are around me, my husband, my family, my community. And support organisations like Can Assist.” Because of Can Assist Bronny feels that “she has a cheer squad everywhere you walk. There’s someone who’s cheering for you to be okay”. 

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Can Assist Manning Valley get support from Krystylea Bridge Cup day

Can Assist Manning Valley volunteers and supporters on the day.

 

Krystylea Bridge Cup day, the annual fund raiser for Can Assist Manning Valley conducted by Gary and Tanya Bridge and Taree City Bulls Rugby League Club, is on track to top the 2023 figures.

“We’re up to $20,000 already. We made $23,000 last year,” Gary Bridge said on Monday.

“We haven’t tallied up sales from the shirts yet and we also have a race day on Monday, August 26 at Taree. We’ll get another six grand from that.”

The Krystylea Bridge Cup will be the main event on August 26 in the meeting conducted by Manning Valley Race Club. The cup was run for the first time last year.

“I’ve organised all the race sponsors and the club will donate all of that to Can Assist,” Gary explained.

“We should have close to $30,000 this year – that’s an unbelievable response and we really want to thank the community for the continued support.”

An auction of sporting memorabilia and other items conducted on Saturday before the kickoff of the first grade game between Taree City and Wingham topped $10,000.

“That’s a good result considering we only had seven items,” Gary said.

The day was instigated in 2014 and going into last weekend had raised more than $200,000 for Can Assist, a not-for-profit organisation which provides financial assistance for rural cancer patients.

 

manningrivertimes.com.au

August 12 2024

Olympian Melinda Gainsford-Taylor AM launches Can do the Distance Challenge

Olympian Melinda Gainsford-Taylor, ambassador for Can Assist, is leading the

2024 Can do the Distance August challenge.

 

Three-time Olympic champion sprinter, Melinda Gainsford-Taylor AM is leading the Can do the Distance 2024 August challenge to help raise funds to assist rural and remote cancer patients to access needed services.

Mel is an ambassador for Can Assist, a not-for-profit organisation who provides financial assistance for rural cancer patients. She knows only too well the challenges that cancer patients and their families face, as she grew up in country NSW and her mother had cancer.

“I encourage you to join in this August and participate in the Can do the Distance Challenge,” Mel said.

“Can Assist wishes to shine a light on the hardships distances create for country people and we need your help, whether it be running, swimming, walking, or even reading a set amount of books for the month, we’d love you to support your chosen during the month of August and help raise funds in support of NSW country cancer patients.

“Getting involved is easy. Simply set a personal goals, register online and spread the word to family and friends to help you fundraise.”

Basically, you can do anything you love doing for the month of August and raise much needed funds simply by doing it.

Essential Energy is sponsoring Can do the Distance and has four teams taking part in the challenge.

Helping cancer patients in the Manning Valley

The Manning Valley branch of Can Assist raises funds specifically for cancer patients in our region. However the volunteers will not be taking part in the challenge themselves as they have a very busy August ahead, with fundraising events at the Kristy Lea Bridge Challenge Cup, the Wingham Tigers Charity Ball and a visit from the Melbourne Cup to Taree.

Can Assist receives no financial assistance from any level of government, and 100 per cent of fundraising goes directly to cancer patients in rural NSW.

You can sign up to take part, or donate, at candothedistance.org.au. If you sign up to take part, you can choose to donate all funds you raise to Manning Valley Can Assist.

 

July 19 2024

manningrivertimes

Manning Valley Afternoon tea

Manning Valley Can Assist held a country afternoon tea ahead of Mother’s Day to raise much needed funds.

There were several competitions for tea towels – the most loved and used tea towel, the prettiest tea towel and a section for travel tea towels – local and overseas.

The event, at St Mary’s Hall in Taree, raised money for the important work Can Assist does in helping local people battling cancer.

Recently the Manning River Times reported a double whammy of an increase in the number of people being diagnosed with cancer and the rising cost of living putting pressure on everyone was causing Manning Valley Can Assist to be “bombed” with requests for help.

The impact of this meant the charity, which helps rural cancer patients in the Mid-Coast with financial assistance while they are undergoing treatment, had had to scale down what help they can give.

Manning Valley: Cheque presented to Can Assist

Taree Freemansons Shop 44 Assistant Manager Jan Stevens recently presented a cheque for $5,000 to Can Assist Manning Valley.

Shop 44 is an initiative of District 44 Masonic Charities Incorporated which is supported by Freemasons in the Laurieton, Wingham, Gloucester, Forster and Taree areas and is located in the ground floor of the Taree Masonic Centre, Albert Street. This donation is in keeping with the charter of the District 44 Charities which limits all donations to the above areas.

Manning Valley: Rewarding Pam Archer

She is a pioneer of the Manning Valley music scene, and now Pam Archer OAM has added another accolade to her growing list.

Pam received life membership to the University of the Third Age (U3A) at a Manning Valley branch meeting on Monday, October 12.

She was recognised for her service and outstanding commitment to the members, programs and activities of the Manning Valley branch, specifically the U3A choir the Silver Tones Singers.

Pam was the founding musical director when the Silver Tones began in October 2009.

Under her guidance, singers of all abilities were welcomed and included in programs and performances.

Pam was instrumental in creating two concerts to raise funds for local charities. These are held annually at various venues in the area.

Since 2014, they have raised $18,060. Those to benefit from the concerts include Manning Base Hospital’s children’s ward, Can Assist, Push 4 Palliative, women’s refuges, Homeless Support Service and Manning Uniting Church welfare programs.

Pam retired from the choir in March 2020. The passionate music educator has contributed to many initiatives and activities in the Manning Valley.

Tag Archive for: Manning Valley

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