For the past nine years a Frankston couple have been shining a little light into the lives of children with special needs.
It all started 17 years ago, when Trevor and Sandra put up four Christmas motifs and a few strands of lights on their house at 1 Lulworth Place. As the display grew – from the front of the property to the carport and fernery, backyard and second storey – so did the number of people coming to check it out.
So nine years ago they decided put out a donation tin; they don’t charge admission but thought they could help out a charity or deserving organisation, and eventually they settled on the Frankston Special Developmental School.
“Two years prior a lovely man, the late Rudi Geppert, who was the PE teacher at the school, knocked on the front door and asked if we’d mind if he brought a couple of busloads of the children around, and we were absolutely over the moon to have them here,” Trevor said. “So when we still hadn’t organised who we were going to collect money for, we went round to the school and spoke to the principal and within two hours they’d arranged a collection tin for us, a laminated letter to put on the tin to say who the money was for … they bent over backwards to help us.”
Since then they have raised close to $25,500 for the school, only requesting that it be used for projects the school would otherwise be unable to fund. In 2012 the school was able to put on its own Olympics and invited Trevor and Sandra along as the Olympic King and Queen. The money raised last year was used to fund the 2016 school concert. FSDS principal Scott Tucker gave Trevor and Sandra front-row seats. “It is just absolutely mind blowing what those teachers and support staff do for those kids,” Trevor said. “It was really hard to sit there and not get a tear in your eye.”
The Commonwealth Bank in Karingal does not charge them to process the donations, and Big W Karingal assists by selling the lollipops Trevor and Sandra buy for the children who visit the display at cost price. Trevor and Sandra don't count how many people wander through the display each year, but last year they gave away 4500 lollipops.
The display, which is insured for $40,000 and adds $400 to the household power bill, starts going up in the first week of October and is turned on at 8.30pm on December 1. “Early in the month we turn it off at 10.30, but as it gets closer to Christmas - especially weekends - we’re on until 11pm or later, depending on whether people are here.
“We do this not for ourselves – this is for the community and more importantly for the kids – that’s what this is all about.”
Mr Tucker described Trevor and Sandra as “heroes of the Frankston community”.
“They do not ask for anything in return. They’re stars.”