The other evening, I was sitting on the lounge. It was so cold that I decided to throw over 2 blankets and then I stopped and thought about the people in Rochester, impacted by the floods, living in caravans, tents and sheds ………
The incredibly generous acts of kindness shown by our Rotary clubs, in answering our callout for assistance, only two weeks ago, to help others in need is simply overwhelming. The families in Rochester who have been impacted by the floods, after 6 months have reached out and asked us for help. We have been waiting for this call! And there was a 24-hour turnaround in responses!
Breaking News: Word from Rochester is that almost all blankets have been distributed in only 2 days since they arrived!!
Photo: David Gorman and Frank Warner loading the truck.
We asked for a minimum of 600 units and as I write these words, current count sits at 615, including single, double, queen and king size blankets, doonas and quilts. Pillows, pillow cases, sheets, sleeping bags, heaters and towels have also been donated. With further donations from Balwyn North, Bendigo, Point Lonsdale, and Daylesford, we have exceeded our goal.
I have had the privilege of meeting Rotarians and their partners - many of whom I did not know, who rolled up their sleeves and helped carry huge quantities of beautiful brand new, and pre loved blankets, quilts, doonas, hand-knitted and crocheted blankets and other bedding into my home as a collection point. To others, thank you for delivering your donations to our other collection point at RIMERN in East Brunswick.
All I can say is a sincere and heartfelt thank you to all the clubs and individuals who donated to this cause, helping us to help others.
A number of clubs went the extra mile and included a caring note of best wishes for the recipients; and there were even some gorgeous fluffy socks! Other clubs, such as the Rotary Club of Brighton North, thank you Lyn Mortimer, and the Rotary Club of Woodend, thank you Melissa Hocking, took it upon themselves to load up their vehicles and make the journey to Rochester, meet with President Heather and deliver their donations; and we have read posts about the Rotary Clubs of Bendigo and Point Lonsdale working together to donate enormous quantities of much needed bedding. Thank you so much for helping us to help others.
So yes, together we will exceed our original goal. Any overflow will be distributed to families in other regions that have been impacted by the floods.
Other items which we were asked to assist with included heaters and weed killer – well, we have both of these. Huge thanks to clubs who were able to assist with this, in particular, Ian Hovey and Rotary Club of Werribee who have generously donated a large amount of weed killer to help address the weed overgrowth, along with RIMERN, Macedon Ranges and Chadstone / East Malvern.
This blanket drive could not have happened without you all caring and wanting to make a difference, helping those in need.
A very special thank you to Frank Warner from Rotary Club of Chadstone / East Malvern to helping to pack the delivery truck and David Gorman from the Rotary Club of Albert Park, who is an integral member of the RIMERN team, for coordinating pick-ups, collecting the donated items from all over, and driving them to Rochester in the RIMERN truck. Thanks to you both.
As one person said ….” next Tuesday night all these blankets will be on their beds in Rochester!”
A HUGE heartfelt thank you to the following Clubs and individuals for reaching out and assisting:
Activate Victoria club members and…
Greg Harbour
Albert Park club members and…
Mark Davies
Lea Ram
Balwyn club members and…
David Hobson
Bendigo club members and…
Peter Reading
Brighton North club members and…
Lyn Mortimer
Carlton club members and…
Ian Ada
Michael Elligate
Tania Herschberg
Camberwell club members and…
Gary Goldsmith
Alan Lorenzini
Chadstone/East Malvern club members and…
Michele Kennedy
Frank Warner
Jo Roach
Kathy Noble
Daylesford club members and…
Terri Oprean
DIK Team
Bob Glindemann
E-Club club members and…
Gabe Hau
Hawthorn club members and…
Katrina and Mick Flinn
Hoppers Crossing club members and…
Mick and Pennie Stade
Macedon Ranges club members and…
Sally Armstrong
Melbourne Passport club members and…
Jessica Palti
North Balwyn club members and…
Rowan McClean
Point Lonsdale club members
RIMERN Team and...
David Gorman
Werribee club members and…
Ian and Micki Hovey
Woodend club members and…
Grant and Melissa Hocking
Thank you all for helping us to help others.