WHEN Fr Darcy McCarthy, the ailing founder of Father Mac’s Heavenly Puddings was saying his last goodbyes to volunteers, Molly Geoghegan and Pat Bulmer, 25 years ago, he had one final request.
He asked the sisters to ensure they help keep the pudding factory going.
The volunteers have kept their promise to Fr McCarthy, together accruing more than 40 years at the late priest’s fundraising project.
But now Molly and Pat say it’s time to say goodbye.
“The factory has come so far since we started,” Molly said. “I remember packing all day amongst the hot steaming bowls.”
Pat agreed, saying “Fr McCarthy could never have imagined how large the pudding factory was to become from when he was making them in the presbytery kitchen in 1985 using his mother’s recipe.
“Now we are shipping out pallets of puddings around Australia.”
Both women have found their volunteering experience with the pudding-making project rewarding on a personal and social level.
“We have seen people from all walks of life come to help at the factory,” Molly said.
“People with high-profile jobs, lots of characters and some others who just needed work in some form.”
Factory manager Beverly Crethar said profits from the pudding sales continued to be distributed to many charities including the local parish, the Lismore Soup Kitchen, Fr Chris Riley’s Youth Off The Streets, Wayside Chapel and international aid to Ghana, Zimbabwe.
She thanked the departing volunteers for their “incredible efforts”.
“Molly Geoghegan and Pat Bulmer have made a great contribution to their parish and a lot of people have been the beneficiaries of their volunteer work,” she said.
