Shepparton Greyhounds Going Blue on Monday
Victoria Police and the Shepparton Greyhound Club are joining forces to raise money for the Blue Ribbon Foundation.
This Monday's annual Blue Ribbon Day will mark 20 years to the day since the infamous Walsh Street murders of Steven Tynan and Damian Eyre, the latter being from the town of Shepparton.
Damian's father Frank worked in the police force at Shepparton until he was 72, and is one of about 20 current or former police members that will attend this Monday's race meeting at Shepparton. A handful of races will be named in honour of police members that have died on duty, with Victoria Police to present Blue Ribbon Medallions and a framed plaque to winning connections of those races.
“By linking the day to greyhound racing it will create more interest and increase the exposure of Blue Ribbon Day. We also hope it will help erase the misconception that Blue Ribbon Day raises money for the police force”, said Sergeant Peter Law, President of the Shepparton Blue Ribbon Branch, which is
one of 12 Blue Ribbon branches across country Victoria.
“The Blue Ribbon Foundation actually raises money for the community. Our Shepparton branch has raised $106,000 for the local hospital at Shepparton so far, and has a commitment to raising a further $19,000, before we move on to raising money for other projects.
Any money raised by the nine country branches is matched dollar for dollar by Victoria Police in Melbourne.”
The Shepparton Greyhound Racing club is located at 7580 Goulburn Valley Highway, Kialla. Blue Ribbon donation tins will be on course, while Buff the police dog soft toys will be on sale to raise money for the cause.