Council, clubs and community come together for bushfire appeal drive

Published on 13 January 2020

Mayor Frank Carbone smiling and posing with Fairfield City Council staff while holding one of the bushfire relief collection tins

Council is aiming to raise $100,000.

The funds raised will assist the families of the two Rural Fire Services volunteers from Horsley Park Brigade, Geoffrey Keaton and Andrew O'Dwyer who tragically lost their lives shortly before Christmas; the Salvation Army Disaster Appeal; and the RSPCA Bushfire Appeal assisting with treatment of animals impacted by the fires.

"This is a challenging time for the communities affected by the catastrophic bushfires and it's important that we come together as a community to assist our emergency services and the recovery process to come", said Fairfield City Mayor Frank Carbone.

"We also wanted to show our support to the incredible efforts of The Salvation Army emergency response team, who are on the ground providing relief work, and the RSPCA which is assisting affected wildlife, pets and livestock as the devastation is still unfolding."

Council has donated 100 percent of all the entry fees to its New Year's Eve 'Illuminate' event and has matched dollar for dollar all donations from the community at the event.

Cabra-Vale Diggers, Mounties, Smithfield RSL and St Johns Park Bowling clubs, as well as The Australian Chinese Association and the Mingyue Lay Buddhist Temple in Bonnyrigg have each pledged $10,000 towards the donation drive.

"I would personally like to thank our fundraising partners and the community for their overwhelming generosity. Through our combined efforts we have collected $85,000 – but we still have some way to go to reach our goal of $100,000." Mayor Carbone said.

Council is accepting donations toward the bushfire relief and recovery with collection tins at the following locations:

  • Bonnyrigg, Fairfield, Wetherill Park and Whitlam libraries
  • Cabravale, Fairfield and Prairiewood leisure centres and
  • Fairfield City Council Administration Centre, Wakeley

"Every bit helps, no matter how big or small, I encourage you to donate and support those communities in crisis."