Wollongong local, Laurie “Trucken” Thompson, a much loved member of the music community, survived Melanoma, but was recently diagnosed with severe brain cancer with a low survival rate. This news was delivered heartachingly the same day as he and his long-term partner Rhianna collected the keys to their very first home. There are patients with his condition being treated with amazing success, however this treatment is unfortunately only available overseas and is very expensive. Laurie is desperately trying to raise a further $175K to be able afford this treatment.
A group of locals have decided to help raise a significant amount of these funds & organised the Still Trucken Music Festival. Its an entirely volunteer run event on Feb 16th in Wollongong. We’ve rallied a large number of Wollongong & Sydney’s top music artists who have agreed to perform for free at this full-day, ticketed music festival in the heart of Wollongong. We have also sourced a great venue, Sound Equipment & operators as well as a full team of volunteers to manage the day all for free! This is an entirely charity run, not-for-profit event & we have commited to donating all proceeds to Laurie for his desperately needed treatment. Over 150 tickets have been sold already.
With a budget so far of $0, we are already on track to raise a significant amount. However, following our success so far, we’ve decided that with extra help, we can make this fundraiser event even more effective. So we are reaching out to the local community for help. We are seeking funding for Staging & Lighting costs, Event Fencing, Toilets & Security guard fees as well as donations of products or services that are suitable as promoting the business that are supporting the festival.
All funds not used in base marketing & operational expenses will go directly to the charity donation total. We will have a full & transparent budget report available on request after the festival outlining all expenses & money raised. This is a huge local story & will have a massive impact on not only Laurie & his family, but on Wollongong itself. This kind of community action is what has been missing from our great city & by doing this we hope to change our city for the better.
If you are interested in supporting us or running a story/interview with one of the organisers of this event to help spread awareness please contact: StillTruckenFestival@gmail.com
We can gladly provide you with links to more information on Laurie & his condition as well as the festival & the artists and people involved.
Hope to hear from you soon.
