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Last update: 10th November 2022 (This page now has archival information and is not current)
Total updates: 25 (There are updates to almost all sections. Check out the total raised below, and help make it even higher!)
TLDR version
If you’re busy and don’t want to read this long page, skip to: Too long, didn’t read.
Context
The details of my appeal are on Facebook. Please read that entire post for context.
READ THIS FIRST —>> My post on Facebook with all the details.
This page is only for the current status and to get in touch with me.
Please do not donate anything that’s not on the list below.
Status
Please only donate money now, no more goods!
I have a trailer load of very useful donations ready to go up to Mullumbimby and surrounds. Following BOM advice, I’m not driving up today (Tuesday) due to the significant rain and storm activity across the entire coastline. I will set off on Wednesday 9th March early. I will also need to pack the additional items I received last night and this morning.
Photos are towards the bottom of this page.
Donated items and donors
- Thank you to the many people who dropped items off at Buddha Bowl on Sunday. Photos below.
- Thank you Mel G for dropping off an amazing lot of items you had already collected, waiting to be taken up.
- Thank you Christopher for the high pressure cleaners, generator, cables and other items you bought at Bunnings today and delivered to me
- Thank you Megan and Michael H for the spades and shovels and the pressure cleaner you brought in
- Thank you Robert and Jenny P and Sarah and John M for your generous donation and thoughtful shopping for many items on the list
- Thank you Gemma for all the relevant items and all that white vinegar you were able to buy and bing over
- Thank you Bridget for doing the $500 worth of new items collection from your colleagues and delivering to me late Monday night
- Thank you Kitty for bringing supplies late Monday night
- Thank you Julie and Lien for bringing in last minute supplies on Tuesday morning. I am waiting for the rain to stop a bit to open the trailer up.
- Several other people came by to drop off some excellent and thoughtful donations on Sunday and Monday who are not mentioned here.
- Thanks Brian, for the amazing technology gifts you have donated (details on this later).
- I had a call with Kristy at Mullumbimby & District Neighbourhood Centre (MDNC) on Sunday and she mentioned that on top of all the items being taken up, they will be able to make very good use of the cash that’s been collected here. A lot of people feel like they’ve had have no control over their lives in the past week, with so much lost. Being able to spend a small amount of gifted money on items of an individual’s choosing can bring a tiny amount of control back to them. MDNC are now asking for gift cards as the primary item for donation.
- Which brings us to the money all of you have trusted me with for the Northern Rivers community…
Donated money
- $6,940.97 (via PayPal after their fees)
- $4,125 (to my bank account)
- $500 (cash donations received)
$11,565.97
Other: $65 Bunnings gift voucher received as donation and used at Bunnings.
Amazing! Please keep sharing my post, everyone. Let’s get it over $15K!
I’ve only spent around $800 at bunnings and elsewhere as the trailer got filled by excellent donated items. I do not intend to spend much more than that.
Update: actual cash used: -745.38 for Bunnings items and cleaning vinegar. And so a total of $10,820.59 is available for the flood affected community.
This money will be given to MDNC – an organisation that has been making a direct and immediate positive impact during this crisis. They have DGR (Deductible Gift Receipt) and PBI (Public Benevolent Institution) status and can issue a donation receipt to anyone who has contributed. Please let me know if you would like one.
Regardless, I will post all financial information and photos here after I hand over the goods and the cash.
My schedule (updated)
- Sunday 6th March, 2022 – accepting donations at Enmore (see collection point below)
- Monday 7th March – accepting donations by appointment up to 3 PM at my place in Enmore. The earlier you can come, the better, so I have time to consider optimal packing (see collection point below)
- Monday 7th March – I will spread everything out, considering packing options and make a list of what we need to buy at Bunnings to help safely transport it all
- Monday 7th March – do a further small amount of shopping, using a part of the funds received
- Monday 7th March – Adam will help me pack the trailer. (to the other person who offerd to help, thank you, I will reply soon)
- Monday 7th March – Again, speak with NDMC and determine my stops (e.g. Evans Head, Ballina) where the supplies will be most useful
- Tuesday 8th March – BOM recommends not to drive. Too much rain and multiple flood warnings all along the coast.
- Wednesday 9th March – drive up from Sydney to Mullumbimby, starting early morning (fingers crossed the weather cooperates)
- Wednesday 9th March – visit Mullumbimby Neighbourhood Centre to discuss distribtion of goods and money. Start driving around to disstribute where needed most.
- Thursday 10th March onwards – update this page regularly to include photos of distribution and a message from the community you’ve helped
How to help
Donate money
I have a full trailer load and can’t take any more items.
If you know me personally and want to contribute money that will be used in its entirety, with no admin costs, for the direct benefits of those most impacted, then please use my PayPal link below or ask for my PayID bank details. Please include your name with the transfer. Mullumbimby Neighbourhood Centre will receive the entirety of the funds (after PayPal fees), and I will post photos and confirmation of transfer here.
(Update: Link now disabled, please donate directly to Mullumbimby District and Neighbourhood Centre)
Please help now! The donors’ list is down below.
Help packing the trailer
Thanks to Adam for spending hours helping me pack the trailer. And also for receiving donations at his cafe. You’re a legend.
List of items needed
This section contains outdated information. Please only donate money now. The trailer is full.
Please only bring items from the updated list below. Highlighted items are most desirable. I have no idea how much will come through. If this appeal is successful and I receive enough to fill the trailer, the donations will have to stop as I can’t leave anything behind in Enmore when I drive up on Tuesday, weather permitting.
- Gift Cards
- Supermarkets and other large stores
- Equipment
- Dehumidifiers
- Chainsaws
- Eye protection glasses and sunnies for pressure cleaning
- Strong work gloves
- Shovels
- Big outdoor heavy duty Brooms with hard bristles
- Hoses and connectors
- Blowers
- Generators
- Pressure cleaners
- Mops and floor squigees
- Stanley knives
- Axes
- Buckets
- Jerry cans
- Hard scrubbing brushes
- Gaffer tape, masking tape
- Stackable plastic boxes with lids
- Tressle tables
- Bi-carb
- Rope
- Personal and wet wear items
- Gum boots
- Hair brushes
- Hair ties
- Size 6 nappies (no other sizes needed)
- Travel tissues
- Sunscreen
- Shaving foam
- Work boots
- Rain jackets and other wet weather gear
- Socks for kids and adults
- Women’s underwear and sanitry items
- Men’s underwear (L size)
- Elderly sanitary items (Tena?)
- Men’s work socks
- Sunhats
- Belts
- Medical supplies
- Antiseptic (Dettol, Betadine etc.)
- Insect repellant
- Bandages – especially large ones for horses
- Band aids
- First aid kits
- Hydralite
- Aspirin
- Rubbing alcohol
- Baby paracetamol
- Kids paracetamol
- Anti-histamine
- Epi-pens
- Inhalers
- Electrical/electronics
- Mobile phones and chargers
- Solar panel USB chargers
- Power banks
- Extension leads
- Food and related
- Baby food (not formula)
- Instant coffee
- Baby eating utensils
- For fuzzy wuzzy pets
- Kitty litter
- Leads and collars
- Cat balls
- Pooper scoopers
- Lighting
- Torches and batteries
- Candles
- Large items (ideally foldable so they don’t take up heaps of room in the trailer)
- Prams
- Cots
- Baby carriers
Items NOT needed
Please do not donate these items
- No food or water
- No bedding
- No clothing (outside of the list above)
- No toiletries
- No cleaning products
- No towels
Items I can not safely take up, even though they are needed up there
- No gas bottles
- No butane canisters
Donors of money and gift vouchers
- Julie D
- Nisha K
- Kate T
- Ryan L
- Darren M
- Geeta O
- Michaela C
- Rowena M
- Kirsten T
- Christopher D
- Sandra M
- Miriam R
- Helen S (UK)
- Nadine D
- James J
- Amy T
- Rebecca B
- Elizabeth B
- Jane L
- Clea S
- Ethical Trading Australia
- Samatha M
- Victoria T
- Aparna A
- Phil P
- Sabrina A
- Jacqueline W
- Chloe S
- Andrea B
- Louella C
- Bec G
- Mark M
- Katja A
- Lyndal P
- Gillian P
- Ashley M
- May W
- Madhumita N
- Veronique S
- Monica R
- Mark R
- Janet S
- Penelope D
- Shelley D
- Sam and Dan C
- Tony G and friends
- Mel H
- Hema and Sudhakar R
- Rhonda and Ian F
- Trish C
- Caroline D
- Irene G
- Paula C
- Maggie N
- Chris W
- Zoe C
- Tim E
- Robert and Jenny P
- John and Sarah M
- Dylan M
- Michelle and Stuart M
- Anurag C and Tanya N
- Marcos P and Elder V
- Saraj S
- Zoe E
- Gloria O
- Annette G
- Joanna G
- Steven M
- Fiona O
- B Padda and A Majsay
- Smeeta N
- Rachel T
- Anita C
- Steve F
- Rashmi P
- Prodipta B
- Stone Real Estate Newtown
- Prageet Kunwar
Resources
A website for people donating services to connect with those who need them
A list of other places to donate
https://www.facebook.com/ombyronbay/posts/5773759652639910
More on how you can help
https://wordonthecoast.com.au/to-do/2022-northern-nsw-floods-help
Photos
Donated items
At the beginning
Items received at Buddha Bowl Cafe on Sunday
Items dropped off at Enmore on Sunday
Items dropped off at Enmore on Monday,7th March
Sorting, shopping, labelling and packing
Items purchased with some of the donated money
- Due to the quantity, relevance and the high quality of donated items, very little of the donated money had to be spent to buy more.
- Stackable plastic boxes, tarps, strap and rope to tie everything down in the trailer. It will be given away as part of the donation.
- Some gumboots (we have around 30 pairs total now)
- White vinegar for cleaning (around 80 litres total now)
- All remaining money will be handed over to MDNC
The trailer
What they want
This is the latest Mullumbimby as at 11 AM Tuesday 8th March. Gift cards are the main thing they’d like donated going forward so that people have control over getting things they need when they need them.
TLDR
Here’s the ‘too long, didn’t read’ version.
- The backstory is on Facebook.
- On Wednesday, 9th March 2022 (delayed due to Tuesday crazy rains), I’m driving up a loaded trailer from Sydney to Mullumbimby with donated supplies and money to help the people severely affected by the NSW Northern Rivers floods.
- I should now have enough to pack out the trailer, but please donate money that will go straight to the Mullumbimby District & Neighbourhood centre without any admin costs, delays or beaurocracy. From my hands to the hands of people helping relieve immediate suffering.
(Update: Link now disabled, please donate directly to Mullumbimby District and Neighbourhood Centre)
Or, to avoid potential PayPal fees, email me at [email protected] for my bank details.