Corporate help for fire victims

After the bushfires it has been heartening to see the fantastic community efforts taking place.

People everywhere have wanted to help. And not just individuals. The corporate sector has been in there as well.

At Australian Unity, teams of employees have given up free time or used their “community leave day” to help on the ground. This is one young woman’s account of her day sorting and helping distribute much-needed donated goods in Alexandria.


Nervous anticipation was building amongst the first group of Australian Unity volunteers boarding the bus en route to Alexandra. Whilst each person wanted to “make a difference” and assist the bushfire victims, we didn’t know what to expect or how we would deal with it – after the week’s build up of confronting images, stories of terror, tears and courage.

What greeted us in Alexandra was an overwhelming display of the strength of the human spirit and constant reminders that when it counts most, there are no differences between us. City types rallied with country types, interstate visitors mixed in with teenagers who had lost friends and with weathered elderly locals whose determination and grit stood as leading examples to all of us.

Whilst we were shielded from the direct impact of the fires, and our journey bypassed the central fire zones, our placement at the distribution centre reminded us we were at the hub of where the relief effort had crucial importance to the community.

Warm and heartfelt greetings were followed by serious briefings and we got down to the job of receiving and sorting essential goods. An atmosphere of common purpose and congeniality stayed throughout the day. Our brief was simple – to serve and support. So, the AU team blended in with weary locals and there was a curious mix of raucous laughter, serious quiet conversations and exchanging hugs with strangers – all at the right time, just when it was needed most.

Always present was the spirit of generosity from businesses and the public, with every imaginable food item, clothing and accessories constantly being trucked in, sorted, allocated, boxed and re-distributed. Despite the volume of goods being shifted, care was taken to ensure families and individuals could access fully stocked toiletry bags, food hampers and clothing packs.

A lunch time walk through the eerie quiet of the town, still a smoke filled environment, reinforced the scale of the relief effort taking place. The local football oval and grounds housed a sea of army tents, rows of buses transporting units to fire fronts and an immense array of army tanks, fire engines and equipment. This view was quite at odds with the otherwise peaceful tree lined streets and sleepy village.

Hearing the speeches of gratitude at the day’s end was humbling and touching for our team, who felt, as I do, that we now share a unique bond with this resilient community. We are reassured they will emerge from this disaster with a roadmap for their future, lined with support from both their oldest and newest friends.

Marita Smith
Communications Manager and volunteer
Australian Unity