Family faces loss of state help for ‘joyful’ Harry

By Cherie Donnellan
A TORQUAY family might lose $10,000 in State Government funding to transport a disabled family member without last-minute community help.
Maree Hansen said the state funding for a wheelchair-accessible vehicle to carry 13-year-old grandson Harry was conditional on the family raising the rest of the money required by the end of June.
Charity foundation I Give A Buck had raised $14,000 for the car but donations were “slow”, Ms Hansen said.
The family was $5000 short of its target.
“Ideally we need $55,000 to a buy a brand-new car but even raising $30,000 (for a secondhand van) would be a great effort,” Ms Hansen said.
Harry was born with multiple disabilities including cerebral palsy and needed 24-hour care, she said.
Ms Hansen, Harry’s primary carer, described him as a “joy”.
“He laughs and has fun with life. He’s a mad (Geelong) Cats fan.”
I Give A Buck’s Liat Harrower said Harry’s appeal was “languishing”.
“Normally we only actively run an appeal for seven or eight weeks but we’ve run Harry’s for longer, hoping someone will pull through with a large donation.”
Ms Harrower said the foundation was accepting donations at igiveabuck.org.au.