A BBQ for kids in need

04 February 26

Lodge Wyong Tuggerah Lakes 247

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 which raises money to aid families of seriously ill children on the Central Coast who are required to travel to Sydney or Newcastle Hospitals for treatment. It provides financial assistance for medication, travel, accommodation and assists with in-home specialised equipment when necessary. Over the last twenty years CCKIN has assisted over 4,351 families with more than 5.2 million dollars of support.

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

We were a little worried early on with overcast skies but that quickly turned into a brilliant day. The BBQ was fired up by 7:15am and by the time the first batch had barely finished cooking we had customers clamouring for a snag. A steady stream of customers followed all day, and we were able to settle into our roles – it wasn’t long before we were a lean, mean sausage-sandwich-making machine! The day was only interrupted by the (not unexpected) ‘waves of madness’ around mealtimes when keeping up with the queues of ravenous people really put our skills to the test!

However, we weren’t in it alone – we had excellent volunteers from other lodges in the district bringing our numbers up to 16, so we were never short of a helping hand. Those numbers were further boosted when some members of the Soldiers Beach Surf Lifesaving Club arrived after their morning duties to help out for a few hours. Freemasons on the Central Coast are long-time supporters of Soldiers Beach SLSC and this is a great example of how like-minded community organisations can help each other out for a great cause.

Further thanks are owed to the local community, who 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’, with some even buying a single snag and paying with a $20 note. It was truly awe-inspiring.

The highlight of the day came when one lady, buying snags for her family, told us that CCKIN had helped her family out when they were in dire need, and how much she appreciated our efforts in support of the organisation. Meeting the family and hearing their story was a heart-warming experience for us all and made the day that much more rewarding.

In the end, the event was a remarkable success, raising about $3,600. 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 presented CCKIN with $7,200 to help their cause.

Lodge Wyong Tuggerah Lakes would like to extend our thanks to 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!