And the final number is....

Since we wrapped up our party on the 31st and crawled into our jeans on the 1st, Frocktober Canberra HQ has been madly doing the numbers to work out just how successful our first year has been.

The final donations have been heading in over the last two week and we are finally in a position to reveal the total amount raised by the ACT for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation through Frocktober 2010.

Let's just take a moment to remember we set out to raise $10,000.  We thought that was reasonable, not too high, didn't want to seem overly ambitious.  Then we raised $5,000.00.  On the 30th of September.  By the 7th of October we'd hit our initial target and realised that we'd greatly underestimated just how strongly the ACT community would get behind Frocktober.  So we re-evaluated.  $20,000 we thought, $20,000 seems reasonable, we don't have that many big events planned, donations are hitting the Everyday Hero Site at a reasonable pace, let's aim for $20,000.00

Dear readers, we have to admit that we stopped setting limits on what you could do mid Frocktober.  Everytime we set a goal,  you smashed it.  At Frocktober Canberra HQ, we just sat back and watched in awe as the number kept climbing and climbing and climbing.  The OCRF got an email everytime someone made a donation using the EDH site said that there were days where there were hundreds of emails flowing their way.

We were pretty impressed when we could announce at our finale party that we'd made $34,000.  Admittedly the bubbles had been flowing and there'd been some great music to get us in the party mood but we thought maybe, we'd hit a number in the high thirties when all the final dollars and cents were tallied.

We've just done the final tally so we can send the ACT contribution to Frocktober National HQ in Victoria and we are proud to announce that you raised...

$41,542.00!!

Frockettes and Frockafellas take a bow!  A simply stunning result in our first year. We're so proud of our amazing community and we can't wait for next year!

xx

Frocktober Canberra HQ

Frock me! What a month!

Finale Frockettes by Hilary Wardhaugh Photography

Excuse the silence over the last 3 days but we have to admit we've fallen in a bit of heap and maybe not crawled out of our jimmy jams and jeans to face to the world.   Pantsvember is here!  Okay, Movember is here but we're facing it wearing all the pants, trousers, jeans and skirts that we've stashed away in our wardrobes for the last month, ready to get stuck in and support our Mo'Bros and Mo'Sistas.

We kicked it off with our launch at O'Malleys. There were Ambassadors, Bucks Nights and Boys in Frocks!

Image courtesy of Hilary Wardhaugh Photography

From there it was full steam ahead into "An Evening Frocktacular" Presented by Thoroughbred Park with Derby girls, Canberra Fashionistas and all round fabulous people.

Images Courtesy of Hilary Wardhaugh Photography

We Frocked it up at Tilleys and North Bar for the next two Frock Fridays - free bubbly, great company and new friendships.  We got our Eat Pray Love on at Hoyts Belconnen thanks to Bliss Key Communication where frockettes and some brave frockafellas enjoyed popcorn, drinks and imagining trips to Rome, India and Bali (in fab frocks, of course). 

Old Parliament House and Hotel Realm played host to Frockettes looking fabulous at Frock Fridays.  The bubbly flowed as did the conversation, the fashion and the donations.

Image Courtesy of Hilary Wardhaugh Photography

Finally we held a fabulous finale party presented by the Flint Dining Room accompanied by amazing auction items, incredible live music from AJ & Jacinta as well as the amazing Little Sister.

Images Courtesy of Hilary Wardhaugh Photography

We've heard of fashion line launches, morning teas, golf days, male fashion parades, school bake sales, cafes donating their tips, party plan sales people donating their commissions, mates betting each other that they'll frock up and people just give, give, giving.  The generosity of the Canberra community is simply breath taking.

Photo by Nathan Mollison
http://imnotfamousyet.tumblr.com/

It has been a mind boggling month for those of us here at Frocktober Canberra HQ.  We set out to raise 10,000 in our first year and we have simply smashed that.  At our Finale party, we were ecstatic to announce that as of Sunday we had raised 34,000 and donations continue to flow in. We remain hopeful of our final number being somewhere in the high thirties.

This could not have been achieved without you - the Canberra Community - frockettes, frockafellas, Sponsors, Ambassadors, Departments, businesses, organisations, community groups.  Our sincerest thanks to every single person who joined us for the inaugural frocktober in Canberra.

When we have details of the final amount raised, we'll let you all know.  We have loved working with all of you on this frockin' good cause and look forward to making 2011 even bigger and better!

Some housekeeping notes:

• Our Every Day Hero site will close for donations for 2010 on the 7th of November
• Any donations not placed on the site can be banked to the Frocktober Canberra account (email  us at frocktobercanberra@gmail.com for the details)
• Receipt forms can be emailed to us - we send them to the national frocktober office and they arrange the tax receipts with the OCRF.
• Do you have any feedback for us or would you like to be involved next year?  Please email us at frocktobercanberra@gmail.com

Another Amazing Auction Prize

Throughout Frocktober, our wonderful Silver Sponsor, Hilary Wardhaugh of Hilary Wardhaugh Photography has been documenting our fabulous events all over Canberra. She has been amazingly generous, providing prizes for best dressed for the majority of our events.   However, Hilary has not been satisfied at stopping there.  She has just donated an intimate boudoir portrait session worth $580 for us to auction at our amazing finale party.  Hilary's work is intimate, natural and truly celebrates the beauty of her subjects.  It's an amazing prize (some of us here at Frocktober Canberra may be counting our pennies to see what we can do ourselves!) and the winner will be very very lucky!

Check out some of the images that Hilary has shot throughout the month or "like" Hilary Wardhaugh Photography on Facebook to check  out many many more shots.

All images courtesy of Hilary Wardhaugh Photography

Prizes, Prizes, Prizes

Now we know you all know about the wonderful food, the great french bubbly and the brilliant live music that you'll get to enjoy when you join us this Sunday at Flint for our exclusive Finale Party but how much do you know about the great prizes that we are auctioning off at the party?

Of course, we may have mentioned once or twice that Dawn Fraser, herself, has donated two amazing collages of her personal memorabilia for the auction.  Okay, so we've mentioned it a lot more but we're very excited about it.  I mean, it's Dawn Fraser, Australian living legend, Female Swimmer of the Century, one of three Australians to win gold in the same event at consecutive Olympic games.  Wouldn't you be excited?

In addition to the collages, businesses all over Canberra have been donating prizes to help us raise funds for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF).

Here at Frocktober Canberra, we are currently looking at:

• A 3 month membership to Fernwood Canberra City
• Gift Card from the wonderful Andrew Key and his team at Rebel Sport, Canberra City
• A gift pack from Napoleon Perdis valued at over $150.00
• 2 gift packs from Loreal Paris (seriously they're awesome, we thought about pretending they never arrived.  Well, not seriously but they are pretty darn cool)
• Double passes to two of the hottest shows in the ACT about to open  Urinetown and Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
• A mixed dozen from Jeir Creek Winery
• Stunning pearls from Jane Brown Pearls
• A voucher from Carmen Steffens
• Voucher from Artespresso

And they just keep pouring in! For your chance to win, you need to be at Flint, this Sunday afternoon from 3pm.  Email frocktobercanberra@gmail.com for tickets

MPS for Frocktober - Golf Day Currently Underway

A big shout out to all those currently frocked up and strolling the greens as part of the MPS for Frocktober Golf Day underway at Goolabri Golf Course.    Organised by the amazing Tracey Mitchell, Managing Director of Mitchell Personnel Solutions,  an ovarian cancer survivor, we can't wait to hear the stories that will come from the day.  Our spies have already reported a number of frocked up golfers heading that way.

Fabulous Parliamentary Frocks!

We were very touched to see that our Ambassadors Gai Brodtmann, Member for Canberra and Senator Kate Lundy had drawn the attention of the Parliament to Frocktober and the amazing success that the ACT has achieved in its first year celebrating it.

Naturally both ladies were frocked up and looked fabulous!

We are very grateful to the support shown by all our Ambassadors Senator Gary Humphries, Senator Lundy, Gai Brodtmann and Danielle Post.  Without their support, we wouldn't have been able to reach as many people and achieve the amazing results that we have.

Why not join the ambassadors in celebrating our success at our Finale Party this Sunday, 3pm at Flint Dining Room!  Tickets are available from the Frock Fringe, http://frocktober.org/the-frock-fringe/

Photos courtesy of Frock It!

OMG! $20,000 Raised and Frocktober Isn't Over Yet!

Amy at An Evening Frocktacular

Frockettes, we did it.  Now I know we appear to be saying that a lot at present but it is the 28th of Frocktober and the Every Day Hero site is sitting at $20,532 as I type this blog here at Frocktober Canberra HQ. 

It's been a very exciting day, we've just taken receipt of the TWO memorabilia collages from Dawn Fraser (I got to touch them, there were goosebumps) and two lots of Frockettes have hit the $2,000, the gorgeous Amy Dunham (whose total currently sits at $2,135) and Eleri Harris and Katina Curtis who have raised $2,101 together.

Eleri and Katina are two hard working Canberra journalists who regularly cover the legislative assemby who had promised to cover question time in their best 80's ball gowns if their fundraising efforts hit the $2K mark.  Frocktober Canberra understands that pollies and staffers will be treated to the site of the lovely Eleri in the following frock tomorrow!

We've got the ultimate Frock Friday on tomorrow night at Hotel Realm - as per normal, free champagne on arrival to the Frocked!   So far our Frock Fridays have raised nearly $3,000 in addition to the EDH site. 

To hear the total amount raised, you'll need to join us at Flint on Sunday afternoon for the Finale Party!  Tickets are available from the Frock Fringe!  http://frocktober.org/the-frock-fringe/

Keep on frocking!  

xx

Frocktober Canberra