The North Arm Cove YESS group found themselves with surplus funds and few students eligible for the grant this year so the group looked for a worthy cause. And what could be more worthy than the residents of Dunedoo and surrounding areas in Central Western NSW, devastated by bushfires and the ongoing drought. YESS members unanimously voted to donate $1,000 to the Dunedoo Central School, to be used to further sporting activities.
North Arm Cove residents Joan and Colin Williams planned to take a trip to Broken Hill in September and saw this as an ideal opportunity to personally deliver a helping hand to the Dunedoo and district rural communities.
Joan sought the help of the North Arm Cove Stitch Gatherers group and the Karuah St. Columba Op-Shop who gladly donated pots and pans, crockery, toys, clothing, linen and bric-a-brac.
Realising that the women in rural areas were going without basic necessities, YESS asked Wilson Soh at Karuah Pharmacy if he could help out. Wilson agreed to provide $200 worth of goods at a discount price and put together boxes of essential items, including toothpaste, soap, moisturisers, women’s hygiene products etc. plus many other items at no charge. The North Arm Cove Stitch Gatherers group then spent a morning putting all these items into gift bags, topping them up with goods they had donated themselves.
On September 20, with their car and trailer packed to bursting, Joan and Colin travelled to Dunedoo to present the $1,000 cheque to the school and the donated items to the nearby Coolah Op Shop for distribution. On their travels they saw trucks loaded with hay for the region’s farmers. “We were overwhelmed by people’s generosity and glad we could do our little bit to help,” said Joan. “We all hope that the recent rain will bring some relief to these communities”.
