With the bushfires in Victoria, the past week has been frantic and full of mixed emotions.
Seeing the images and reading the stories of what was happening was devastating. By Monday lunchtime we had set up a fund at work to accept tax-deductible donations for those in the United States which we would that pass on to the Australian Red Cross. The response was amazing with people wanting to help – all the way over here. As donations started coming in, plans were underway to hold an event here to raise some funds ASAP. The result was a fundraiser on Saturday at the Australian Bar in Midtown.
Upon getting there we were greeted with a pub that was simply jam packed. At $20 per head, people had come out in force to raise money and there were raffles galore – boxes of Tim Tams, slabs of Boags and Coopers, Broadway tickets and more. We could hardly move through the door way, let alone upstairs. To see so many people joining in to raise money for somewhere so far away, shows just how much expats and locals were affected by the images that have been seen across the media.
We managed to survive the crowds and heat (freezing outside, melting in the bar!) for a couple of hours… not before I got to meet Ben Graham from Geelong (or more famously as punter for the Cardinals and being the first Australian to play in a Superbowl!) and Mig Ayesa who we all voted madly for in Rockstar INXS and who I remember seeing in his role in West Side Story back in Melbourne years ago.
Ben Graham and I
Mig and I
Here is a write up of the event from the Herald-Sun.
Donations are still coming into work – so far we’ve raised nearly $70,000USD. In just over a week, it is amazing!