JourneyOnline
Major community agencies in the Brisbane area are urging people to hold off on donating items of material aid specifically for people affected by the floods.
Lifeline Community Care, The Red Cross, The Salvation Army, St Vincent de Pauls and Volunteering QLD are asking people to delay donating material goods intended for flood affected people because they currently lack the capacity to collect or distribute the items.
“The scale of the disaster in the Brisbane area has severely impacted on our ability to collect and distribute material donations,” Lifeline’s State Communications Manager Elissa Jenkins said. “At the present time these five agencies do not have the facilities or people power to take donations of furniture, clothing, linen, etc.
“Donating material aid to any of our shops, offices or centres right now may actually hinder our recovery process because of the sheer volume of goods we are receiving and our lack of resources at present to process them.
“If people do have something they wish to donate, we are asking them to please hold off for the moment until further announcements are made in the coming weeks. We thank everyone for their patience during this difficult time,” Ms Jenkins said.
The major charities from Brisbane will be advising the public in the next few weeks when they will be ready to take donations, what kind of donations they will need, and how to go about donating them.
In the mean time if you would like to make a donation of material aid to flood affected communities, or are in need of goods, you can visit www.wikifloods.com.au or www.givit.org.au.
These websites have been set up to catalogue what goods are available to families and individuals who have lost the contents of their home. Some local community groups around Brisbane are independently collecting donations for local residents. To find out who and where are accepting these donations please contact your local community groups directly.
If you or someone you know is experiencing an emotional crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. If you need financial counselling, call Lifeline’s Financial First Aid Line on 1800 007 007, between 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.
Photo : In Theodore 10 SES people are sorting through donations that fill a huge shed. Photo by Karyl Davison
