Tess Dorris and her fellow Girl Guides were up at the crack of dawn at Belmont Market on Sunday to raise more than $1050 for disadvantaged teens.
“I’m really happy, we worked really hard and it all paid off in the end,” the 14-year-old from Rippleside said.
The Second Herne Hill Girl Guides were at the market setting up at 5.15am on Sunday and sold donated second-hand goods in a garage sale-style stall until 2pm.
“I’m not very keen on early mornings but it wasn’t too bad,” Tess said.
“Most of the customers were really friendly. It was great fun and I would do it again.”
Some even donated money without buying anything, Tess said.
“We had quite a few people do that. They would come over and have a look at the stall and say, ‘we don’t want to buy anything but we’ll donate some money’.
“You really made someone else’s Christmas great.”
The girls collected books, toys, clothing, kitchenware and more from friends and family for the fundraiser, Tess said.
“All the girls as a group planned the fundraiser; the leaders didn’t plan it – we did.”
Second Herne Hill Senior Girl Guides leader Belinda George said the stall had raised at least $1050 for Bethany’s annual Geelong Giving Tree Appeal.
For details on Guides: girlguides.org.au
