Power to the People

Vinnies continues to distribute funds every single day to help bushfire-impacted families and communities on the road to recovery, having distributed $10.3 million nationally so far.

In rural areas life can’t go on without access to electricity, especially if you’re rebuilding or repairing houses impacted by natural disasters such as bushfire.

For that reason, Vinnies has donated four portable generators, each worth $2000, to the fire-affected community of Nymboida, sitting between Grafton and the New England region.

Two of the generators were packed into the back of Lismore Central Council president Gail Gaudron’s car for delivery to the community’s hub, the canoe and camping centre, a cooperative enterprise that has been serving as a home for bushfire evacuees.

The other two generators will arrive soon. All four were bought from a local store using funds donated to Vinnies Bushfire Appeal.

The centre’s manager Michael Rook said the generators will be invaluable for locals whose power sources were destroyed, and this practical support from Vinnies is much appreciated. Right on cue two young locals, Dylan Paxton and Caleb Caldwell pulled in with a request – “Can we borrow one of the generators to do a welding job at our mum’s place?”

It was the first loan of the equipment, which is offered free of charge to any local with a genuine need. The generator was loaded into their car and driven off to work at the frontline of a natural disaster that is affecting hundreds of residents of this picturesque but widely charred region.