Centrelink staff member, Sarah Frew, led a donation drive with a difference over the past fortnight, culminating in a truck full of boxes and a long drive for a good cause.
Sarah, who works at Centrelink’s National Support Office in Tuggeranong, has been busy collecting bandages, blankets and pet food in a bid to help care for the animals affected by the Victorian bushfires.
Sarah coordinated the drive amongst Canberra staff and received a phenomenal level of support.
“Centrelink already has hundreds of staff on the ground helping people who have lost everything and I thought it would be nice to do something for the little critters who cannot speak for themselves,” Sarah said.
“We have received overwhelming support for the drive and the staff in Canberra have been very generous with donations.
“We were hoping to receive enough donations for 10 or 15 boxes but we ended up hand-delivering 28 boxes to animal rescue charities.”
Sarah’s husband Pat and son Connor hired an enclosed trailer and transported the donations from Canberra to Victoria last Friday.
“It became a bit of a family affair. My sister-in-law lives in Victoria so we just wanted to do our bit to help out.”
The donations have been divided between Wildlife Victoria, Animal Aid and the RSPCA to assist with rescue efforts.
Centrelink staff in Canberra have also raised over $10 000 for the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal, with donations still pouring in.
In addition to this, numerous blankets, clothing & toys have been collected for residents and will be transported to Victoria in the coming days.
Media contact: Siobhan Dillon, Centrelink Media, Ph: (02) 6155 2776
