Freemasons to donate $7,200 to Central Coast Kids in Need

On Saturday 18 October 2025, Lodge Wyong Tuggerah Lakes held a Bunnings ‘sausage sizzle’ at Tuggerah to raise awareness and funds for Central Coast Kids in Need (CCKIN).

CCKIN is a small volunteer organisation who raise money to provide financial assistance to families of seriously ill children on the Central Coast who are required to travel to Sydney or Newcastle Hospitals for treatment. They do this by easing the financial burden of medications, equipment, travel and accommodation. They also, where possible, assist with in-home specialised equipment to improve the quality of life for these seriously ill children. Since 2005 they have assisted over 4,351 families and paid out more than 5.2 million dollars.

After months of planning we arrived at Bunnings, Tuggerah at 6:45am and started setting up for the day ahead – getting the drinks on ice, neatly stacking the bread and serviettes ready for the snags, etc.

The weather started off overcast but quickly turned into a brilliant day. The BBQ was up and running by 7:15am and we sold our first snag at 7:30am. We had a steady stream of customers all day with a few ‘waves of madness’ with an influx of ravenous people wanting our delicious snags.

We had an excellent group of blokes turn up to help from Lodge Wyong Tuggerah Lakes (LWTL) as well as other lodges in the district, sixteen in total, so we were never short of helpers. LWTL really appreciate the fraternal support.

We also had members of the Soldiers Beach SLSC turn up in the afternoon to help out for a few hours. Freemasons are long-time supporters of Soldiers Beach Surf Life Saving Club and this is a great example of how like-minded community organisations can help each other out for a great cause.

The community really showed their generosity on the day, I lost count of the number of times people said ‘keep the change, it’s for a great cause’, some buying one snag and giving a $20 note. It was awesome.

I think the highlight of the day was when a lady and her family bought some snags and told us that Central Coast Kids in Need had helped her and her family in their time of need and that they really appreciated our efforts to support CCKIN.

It was fantastic to meet the family and to hear their story and it made the rest of the day so much easier knowing that our efforts were really making a difference to families in our community.

The event was a remarkable success, raising about $3,600 on the day.

With the assistance of Freemasons on the Central Coast (FotCC) who covered the cost of supplies (bread, sausages, onions, ice, sauce, etc) and the unwavering support of Masonicare we will be able to present CCKIN with approximately $7,200.

Lodge Wyong Tuggerah Lakes would like to thank Freemasons on the Central Coast, Masonicare and Soldiers Beach SLSC for their support, and the community for their generosity and for helping to make our sausage sizzle such a great success.

Postscript

Next Bunnings BBQ – Bunnings West Gosford have invited us back (following glowing reports of our attitude, respect and commitment) on Saturday 15th November 2025.
So if you’re in the local area, why not pop by for a chat and a banger!