Latrobe dinner brings fundraising total to more than $235,000
The Dr Leon Wescombe Honours scholarship founders, Kerry and Dawn Wescombe, have established an additional scholarship after a very successful fundraising dinner in Latrobe.
The $15,300 raised at the June 1 dinner will fund a PhD scholarship in recognition of their son Leon’s medical research into cystic fibrosis.
The inaugural recipient of this new scholarship is School of Medicine student Emily Mulcahy, who is investigating Intrinsic Versus Disease-Mediated Defects in the Immune System of People with Cystic Fibrosis.
Leon Wescombe (pictured), 29, drowned during a kayaking expedition on the Cosumnes River near Sacramento, California, in June 2010.
The Latrobe fundraiser evening was a huge success with more than 180 guests in attendance, music by the 22-piece Joe’s Big Band and a very entertaining MC who ran an auction.
The Honours Scholarship recipient, James Kitchener, also from the School of Medicine, attended the dinner.
“It was a very successful night and we were overwhelmed by the generosity of the people around the area, the sponsors who supported us and all the people who donated on the night,” Kerry Wescombe said.
The Wescombes have raised more than $235,000 to date in support of the Dr Leon Wescombe scholarships.
Kerry and Dawn Wescombe will attend the UTAS Foundation dinner in Burnie on Thursday June 27, along with Emily Mulcahy.