Next week Percy the Pig will push off from Orange and head home to Boorowa being pushed the whole 211km. Percy the Pig will depart from Robertson Park in Orange on Sunday 8th April at 1pm and head for Nashdale. Each day he will pushed a little further with Percy arriving in Canowindra on Tuesday 10th April at approximately 5pm before setting off the next morning about 8am and heading to Cowra.
Percy the Pig is all about raising money for the Country Education Foundation (CEF). The CEF is a national not-for-profit organisation helping rural and regional youth access education, training and jobs through grants, scholarships, support services and resources that began in Boorowa in 1993.
This past year CEF has been lucky enough to welcome three new local foundations – Canowindra, Grenfell and Walgett. The Country Education Foundation of Canowindra was established to provide much needed financial assistance and support to local youth to help them achieve their post high school education, training and vocation aspirations. The Canowindra CEF recognise that the cost to rural students pursuing their educational goals is often much greater than those of their metropolitan counterparts and that sometimes these costs can be prohibitive.
Founding member of the Canowindra branch Peter Stacey said “We’ve decided to take a different tack and we’re just doing one event a year. We’re going to do it big, and we’re going to do it well. Our first event will be in October 2018.”
While there have been many positives to the new foundations’ establishment in their respective communities, they all acknowledge there are challenges associated with raising funds and, as busy people, finding enough volunteer hours to dedicate to the cause. For more information check out the Facebook Page Country Education Foundation of Canowindra Incorporated.