THE Koori Mail volunteer hub has received the first round of a $500,000 donation of furniture and electrical goods for flood-affected families across the the Northern Rivers.
The donation will be staged across three dates this year with the first lot of $200,000 ready to be distributed throughout the community.
Items included bedding, home entertainment, furniture, homewares and appliances.
"Since the flood hit our community our priority has been to reach out to as many people as possible in preparation for what they would need to get back into their homes," Koori Mail general manager Naomi Moran said.
"Having something new that you can call your own goes a long into the emotional recovery and having people comfortable in their own environment is an absolute priority for us.
"When we started the hub, we outlined what the potential needs would be long-term and that was part of the register we set up for people to tell us what they needed.
"We've worked down the list and ticked off as much as we can, we're just one hub of many around the region who are trying to service the community.
"What we're trying to do is go above and beyond to make sure people who are too shy or isolated reach out to us and get the support they need.
"Since February it's been a changing environment of what people need and moving into winter it's important they are comfortable no matter where they are.
"We have a responsibility as a whole community to do our bit and make sure these people are safe."
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The donation has been made by Andoo, who are part of the Winning Group (Appliances Online and Winning Appliances).
It is a new online furniture and homeware retailer working in partnership with Good360 to provide furniture, mattresses and appliances to flood-affected communities in New South Wales and Queensland.
Head of Corporate and Social Responsibility at Andoo Alice Kuepper was there to coordinate the delivery trucks.
"We've now delivered a portion of our donation to Grafton, Mullumbimby and Lismore," Kuepper said.
"As a business we care for our communities and we have a responsibility to help people who have been devastated by this disaster.
"We've been working on this since the floods happened and having been involved in disaster recovery in the past we knew there was no point bringing all these products in straight away.
"People need time to deal with the devastation and we still have two thirds of our donations ready to be delivered later in the year when people need them.
"We're working with our charity partner Good360 and they match us with charities and groups in need, when they say they're ready we load up our trucks and start again."
Mitchell Craig
Australian Community Media journalist with over 10 years' experience in providing quality news and sport stories.
Australian Community Media journalist with over 10 years' experience in providing quality news and sport stories.
