Girls Night In Scares Up Funds On Halloween
Ghostly Girls Night Raises Money for Women’s Cancer in Australia
Nov 4, 2009
Ms. Lamba, 26, decided to use Halloween 2009 as a stage for a Girls Night In party to raise funds for women’s cancer.
A Girls Night In
The Girls Night In parties took place across Australia during September and the official Breast Cancer Awareness month of October; Ms. Lamba held her "Gorgeous Ghosts" night as a fun way to bring together her friends and family for the Australian Cancer Council cause.
She told Suite101 that she was hoping to raise about $200 from her intimate gathering of nine cousins and friends, but “I’m confident we can do more,” she said. At the time of writing she had hit the $300 mark.
According to the website, the Girls Night In fundraiser started in 2005, and since then over 22,000 events have raised over $12 million.
The idea that women donate the money they would normally have spent on a night out to support women’s cancer research and treatment.
The money raised goes towards research, support services such as volunteer training, a helpline and referral services, and clinical trials.
Baker’s Delight Sponsorship for Women’s Cancer
Baker’s Delight Glebe in Sydney sponsored the event with $230 of pink balloons, food and beverages, and pink paper ladies who flatly refused to stay hanging from the ceiling.
Ravinder Singh, Ms. Lamba’s husband, owns the franchise and already sponsors the Breast Cancer Network Association.
He wanted to be involved but because the Girls Nights In are strictly women-only, sponsoring the party was a way he could help, as the only options Girls Night In organisers gave for male participation on the night was as a waiter or “slave."
Mr. Singh said it was a “fantastic” way for women to get together and support a good cause, and he had donated $100 towards it himself.
Gorgeous Ghosts Shows Diversity of Support for Women’s Cancer Sufferers
Ms. Lamba’s alter-ego hosted the night, dressed in a short brown wig, sparkly devil horns and a 60s-style dress, and set the tone of “glamorous yet evil.”
She was attended by devils, one witch, a pirate and a sexy vampire.
Her guests showed the diversity of support for women’s cancer in Australia, with ages ranging between 24 and 47, and a mix of Indian, Scottish, English, New Zealand and Australian nationalities.
This range is not so surprising when the Cancer Council’s statistics show that one in three Australian women will be diagnosed with cancer before they are 85. In the most recent overview in 2005, of the 44,356 women diagnosed with cancer, a third of those cases – 15,081 – were woman-specific, being either breast, ovarian or uterine cancer.
University student Priya Kodialbail, 26, had “loads and loads of fun” and was donating $20 on Ms. Lamba’s Girls Night In webpage.
She hoped her contribution would help with prevention and treatment research, and was looking forward to next year. “It made Halloween feel more special and yes, I would definitely love to attend it next Halloween!”
Neyhaa Pramar, 27, loved being part of such a meaningful event.
"As a woman myself, I believe supporting breast cancer research is something that makes me feel I contributed to something I feel strongly about, and to top it off, spending some time with the women I love is just the icing on the cake."
Girls Night In Turns Five Years Old – Cancer Council Celebrates with Prizes for the Girls
Ms. Lamba’s party consisted of dinner and drinks, and some impromptu Bollywood dancing lessons from her cousin Mandeep Oberai, but she could have chosen from some of the ideas suggested by the Girls Night In organisers.
The themes ranged from a Pamper or Movie Night In, to holding auctions and raffles.
As an added impetus, those who donate over $30 go into a draw to win to win two nights at the Sofitel Sydney and two tickets to see the musical Wicked.
Hosts get a free week at Curves gym with a friend and if they raise over $180 they could win a $5,000 holiday to a destination of their choice.
This year, to celebrate the event’s fifth birthday, the Girls Night In organisers added another prize with the "Guess who’s coming to Girls Night In" competition.
Celebrities supporting the cause – women, of course – dropped in on girls nights across the country for an hour.
Girls Night In Asks for Donations of the Amount that Would Have Gone on a Night Out
Girls Night In is targeting the 64 per cent of Australian women who say that going out takes up a significant amount of their disposable income.
Their statistics show that:
- 41 per cent of the women surveyed spend up to 10 per cent of their disposable income on going out
- 34 per cent spend 10-20 per cent
- 15 per cent of women spend 20-30 per cent.
Of these, three quarters say they only get out with the girls once a month, while the other quarter goes out weekly with their friends.
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