The fundraising efforts for last year's Tour de OROC, whose peloton cycled almost 800km to regional and remote communities across the region, were presented to Macquarie Home Stay (MHS) on Tuesday, February 3, in the form of a cheque for a staggering $336,000.

It was a record for the event and included $100,000 raised before the tour kicked off thanks to efforts in Bourke including an online auction and radiothon spearheaded by the Bourke Rotary Club, Bourke Shire Council, Radio 2WEB, and Rotary Dubbo South.

Bourke is one of many regional and remote communities whose residents benefit from the low-cost accommodation provided by MHS when they travel to Dubbo for medical treatment. That communities like Bourke are some of the biggest supporters of fundraising for MHS doesn't surprise the facility's managing director, Rod Crowfoot.

"That in itself, speaks a lot. And because our reach is so far, because we get to support so many people from across a big geographic area, they all get a chance to be part of our growth and supporting us to do what we do," Rod told Dubbo Photo News.

Ben O'Brien, chair of the Tour de OROC fundraising committee, said being able to raise a lot of money for a much-needed resource like Macquarie Home Stay was "really rewarding" and a credit to everyone who supported the tour.

"It's a big credit to all of our sponsors, and anybody who's donated to the riders, or anybody who bought a raffle ticket. That's all going directly into building a cottage that will be out there at Macquarie Home Stay," Ben said.

Hearing local stories shared with the riders about the importance of the Dubbo facility were a quiet reminder of the importance of the Tour de OROC, Ben said.

"A lady who took us around on the bus [in one location] had actually stayed at Macquarie Home Stay, and she was in tears just about how important it was, how life changing it was for her. It was really powerful for us to hear her story, and that certainly gives us a lot of encouragement to keep doing what we're doing," Ben concluded.