Staff at Inverell’s General Merchant restaurant have handed over their hard-earned tips to help struggling families.
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Red Cross volunteers Virginia Rainger and Junette Peasley were delighted to receive a $750 donation towards the charity’s national drought relief efforts last Tuesday.
Another $750 will go towards the Terry Lawlor Fundraising – a campaign to buy a van and lifting equipment to improve mobility for a local man confined to a wheelchair due motor nuerone disease.
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The donations are made up from around eight months of staff tips.
“It came out of the blue,” Junette said. She was impressed by the generosity of General Merchant employees.
“That’s a wonderful contribution I think, to the drought appeal.”
“What we can do is a drop in the ocean compared to what is really needed,” General Merchant owner Mark McNeil said.
“The cause has been escalating everywhere and people donating what they can.”
Junette said every little bit counts. She said the Red Cross is pairing up with the Queensland and NSW Country Women’s Associations to help farmers, and that 100 per cent of donations go towards farmers and their families.
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She said they recognised drought as an ongoing concern.
“The way things are going, it’s not going to be short term, it could go on for a few more years at least,” she said.
“This helps the families so they can put food on the tables rather than coming out of their pocket with the stock or anything else that’s needed.”
“Even if they got 100 mls tomorrow, they’ll still probably need another two or three years before they get crops and everything going,” Virginia added.
The Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Appeal is distributing funds through drought aid grants from CWA. Over 390 applications have been processed, and the funds are going towards water, electricity bills, rates, car registration, school fees, and doctor and dentist bills.