A barbecue will be held at Lithgow train station on Thursday morning, August 16, to raise funds for the ‘Helping Farmers in the Central West’ appeal.
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Everyone is invited to come along between 9am and 11.30am at the coach terminal to get a barbecue brekkie or morning tea for a gold coin donation, with 100 per cent of the proceeds to go towards the Lithgow-based ‘Helping Farmers in the Central West’ appeal.
Through this, and other upcoming fundraising events, organisers aim to raise $12,000 to pay for a truck load of feed to be taken out west.
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One of the organisers of the project, Leanne Fitzgerald, travelled out to drought-affected Toorawenah late last week to meet with farmers, business leaders and community groups to find out how to best deliver aid.
Helping Farmers in the Central West has been collecting donations of goods and the services of tradespeople with the aim of delivering help to the centre on the weekend of September 21-23.
A range of trades and labourers have signed up to be part of the working bee weekend, which aims to give the struggling farmers a helping hand.
Leanne, who travelled out to Tooraweenah with fellow organiser Peter Phillips, said the experience was
“It’s bare, there is no water running in the creeks at all,” she said.
“We went out to a working farm and saw how they have to hand feed twice a day.
“For myself, I found it surreal to see how they do it, how they cope.”
They heard stories of people holding down jobs outside the farm and still having to find time to hand-feed twice a day; people battling ill health; or simply finding it increasingly hard to cope as they aged.
During their journey Peter and Leanne hit a kangaroo, which was not at all surprising to locals.
“To see the numbers of wildlife and kangaroos that have been killed on the roads, trying to find water – they were everywhere,” Leanne said.
“It’s not a dusk and dawn problem anymore, they are out all the time.”
The Helping Farmers in the Central West crew will head back out to Toorawenah on September 6 to finalise arrangements for the long weekend visit from September 21 to 23.
To get involved in the fundraising or the trip to Tooraweenah, contact Leanne on 0404 264 591.
Helping Farmers in the Central West has set up a way to allow cash donations to go to Tooraweenah Lions Club. This will allow for the purchase of vouchers to be used at the town’s shops.
The account details are: Tooraweenah Lions Club
BSB: 633-000, Account No: 152147971.
Please use the word ‘farmers’ as the reference.
