Caught by surprise: Angela Beutel is blown away with community donations to flood-impacted towns in northern NSW.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
Rochester’s Angela Beutel was expecting to have no more than 10 boxes of donated goods to give to flood-affected communities in northern NSW.
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Some 120 boxes later and Ms Beutel said she had been left speechless by the community’s kindness.
“It’s truly amazing to see the amount of effort our community has gone to,” she said.
The Uniting Church of Tongala’s donation stood out as an act of kindness — church-goers donated the entire contents of their church including plates, cups, mugs, vacuum cleaners, chairs, fans and heaters.
Ms Beutel was also amazed by the donation from a Nanneella community member named Katherine (no last name provided), who supplied boxes upon boxes of pharmaceuticals, including essential medications and asthma pumps.
Ms Beutel said people had donated items that hadn’t even crossed her mind.
“It’s been brilliant to see people thinking outside the box,” she said.
Garage full of donations: Angela Beutel will be travelling to northern NSW with Rochester Rotary Club president Heather Watson and other members of the club to donate the essential items.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
As to how Ms Beutel is going to get the items to Northern NSW, members of the Rotary Club of Rochester will be lending their time, their bus and a trailer.
Ms Beutel will be travelling with Rochester Rotary Club president Heather Watson and other members of the club, to the towns of Woodburn, Coraki and Broadwater.
If all goes well, the group will depart on Friday, June 3, for a total of five days, but all will be dependent on the weather and the likelihood of further flooding.
Upon arrival, the group will meet with a local man who has been in contact with them throughout the donation process.
Ms Beutel said it was going to be an emotional experience to see the devastation and damage that had been inflicted on the towns.
“We will see what we can do to assist them in the short time that we’re there, perhaps by transporting unwanted items back into Victoria or in some other way,” she said.
Ms Beutel originally came up with the idea for creating flood relief boxes when she realised that a lot of the smaller towns in NSW that had been impacted by flooding may not have been receiving as many donations as the bigger towns.
“Rochester is a smaller town, just like these towns, and we want to help them out as much as we can,” she said.
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