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Our Impact | Three years on from the Black Summer Bushfires
Bushfires Update | November 2023
The 2023/2024 bushfire season is underway, and bushfires have already destroyed homes across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, including dozens of homes in Tara in the Western Downs region. This page shows how GIVIT has helped people recovering from the 2019/2020 Black Summer Bushfires. If you'd like to help people impacted by the current bushfire event, head to our Bushfire Appeal.
Black Summer Bushfires | How your donations have helped
The damage inflicted by the Black Summer Bushfires on human lives, homes and hearts was devastating. Recovery has been long, tough, and heavily affected by COVID-19 and flooding.
In GIVIT's role as the official bushfire donation management partner for the New South Wales, Victorian and Queensland state governments, generous donations allowed GIVIT to work with support organisations to help communities rebuild, recover and heal. GIVIT has been able to impact the lives of so many, ensuring people get exactly what they need, when they need it.
319,632 Items & services received
$4,130632 Donated funds spent
305 Support organisations helped
Who your donations helped
In Quaama, local residents are looking to move forward and heal with the help of initiatives like the Quaama Share Shed.
The Bega Valley District Woodworking Association sourced a shipping container, stocking it with items available for use by people rebuilding their homes and their lives.
GIVIT coordinated the donation of hardware vouchers, paint, tools and a ride-on lawn mower, an important source of peace of mind for locals to keep scrub and vegetation down on their properties.
Thanks to the Plus500 Brumbies, we were able to lend a hand to the Bellchamber family, who lost their family home and livestock during the bushfires.
With the early onset of COVID-19 shutting down local schools, and the large family temporarily living in a tiny cottage, the children were without a suitable space for home-based learning. GIVIT was able to donate a converted shipping container, furniture and digital devices to give the kids a space to learn while their family recovers and rebuilds.
In Southern New South Wales, Waminda - South Coast Women’s Health and Welfare Aboriginal Corporation found themselves initially providing meals to huge numbers of bushfire-affected locals. This later became general food relief as the community was impacted by COVID-19.
GIVIT coordinated the donation of a freezer, as well as cooking essentials and grocery vouchers to increase Waminda's capacity to cope with this increased demand for assistance.
In Victoria, we're partnering with Bushfire Recovery Victoria to provide fully furnished modular houses for people and families who lost their primary place of residence in the bushfires. These modular homes are hugely important, as they give residents a safe, clean, modern space to live on their properties while they rebuild their permanent residence.
Throughout the Upper Murray and across East Gippsland, GIVIT is coordinating the donation of furniture, appliances and essential houses to make these living spaces as comfortable as possible. To date, more than 60 individuals and families into temporary modular homes.
With ash from the fires rendering many sources of drinking water undrinkable, residents throughout the Bega Valley were relying on donated plastic bottles of water which came with complications relating to transport, distribution and waste.
GIVIT purchased 60 water filters from a Bega Store in line with our buy local ethos. These were then distributed to those affected via support organisation Sapphire Community Projects.
In bushfire-affected Corryong, recovery was interruped by landslides, floods and COVID-19. The small, tight-knit community was also rocked by the deaths of five young men in a short space of time, three of those to suicide.
To support the mental health of struggling local teenagers and young people, Corryong Neighbourhood Centre organised a series of ski trips. Thanks to generous donors, GIVIT coordinated the donation of jackets, pants, gloves and other warm clothing for the young people to take on the ski trip, and keep for future winters.
After years of drought, the tiny Northern NSW town of Nymboida lost more than 80 homes in the bushfires, then suffered flooding in early 2020.
Looking to act as a community meeting place for locals during recovery, Nymboida Public School requested a range of items to upgrade their canteen kitchen and meeting spaces. GIVIT was able to coordinate the donation of several appliances including a dishwasher and fridge/freezer, outdoor furniture and a garden shed.
A collaboration with Tradies for Fire Affected Communities (TTFAC), Anglicare and Bushfire Recovery Victoria, dubbed 'Mission Rainwater,' has delivered and installed dozens of rainwater tanks on bushfire affected properties.
Generous donors have allowed GIVIT to coordinate local plumbers to get reliable sources of drinking water to impacted people and families, meaning no more long drives to town to fill containers, or making do with handmade catchment systems.
Mogo Aboriginal Preschool's bus was destroyed in the bushfires, along with hundreds of homes and businesses in the area. For around 70% of the preschool's students, the bus was their only way to get to school.
Doanted funds meant GIVIT was able to purchase 17 car seats, ensuring the school's youngest students could get back to school, and get some normality back. Eighteen months later in Christmas 2021, GIVIT was back at Mogo Aboriginal Preschool, distributing Christmas presents to families recovering from the bushfires and impacted by COVID-19.
For bushfire-impacted regional Victorians, the mammoth task of cleaning up and rebuilding was made even more intimidating by the loss of tools and equipment.
In response, the 'Sponsor a Bushfire Recovery Kit' program was launched in East Gippsland to provide landowners who'd lost everything with the items they needed to rebuild. GIVIT coordinated the purchase and donation of 17 of these kits, with all items purchased from East Gippsland-based hardware stores to assist local economic recovery.
In the early days of recovery, thousands of families living rurally were unable to even contemplate starting the clean up process until they had power.
When Resilience NSW and National Bushfire Recovery received a generous donation of 400 generators from the United Arab Emirates, they tasked GIVIT with identifying need, and managing the distribution of the generators to impacted communities the length of New South Wales, from Combargo to Nambucca.
On NSW's South Coast, volunteer-based organisation BlazeAid set up camp in Moruya shortly after the bushfires subsided to lend a hand to locals rebuilding homes and livelihoods.
Because volunteers spent months at time on site while undertaking important tasks such as rebuilding fences for landowners, they needed important essentials. Our partnership with Taubmans meant we could buy essential items for the campsites like water cubes, toilet paper, washing machines and cooking equipment.
Thanks from support organisations and recipients
Former Recovery Officer with Department of Primary Industries
Thank you for the wonderful contribution to the bushfire recovery you and the team have been, and to our very special sponsors who have made an enormous difference to so many lives since Black Summer. The recovery journey would not have been the same without GIVIT!
Braidwood-based business owner
"I would like to thank you for the support you have given to the Braidwood and surrounding community over the last 18months or so. Your contributions to the individuals have been so well received and have gone towards things that have directly helped them recover from the Bushfire disaster."
Shea Bloom, Local Council Recovery Officer
"The entire group would like to thank GIVIT, the wonderful donors (whoever they were) and Anaconda as well. This made a somewhat unachievable or unrealistic trip come to life thanks to amazing generosity. Thank you from all our little Upper Murray hearts!"
Christine Male, BlazeAid Vice President
“Organisations like GIVIT, which is supported by Taubmans, make(s) a difference. They can set us up in the area. We don’t have to wait a week for goods to be delivered. They can come straight into the camp, sometimes within hours. We’re forever grateful for that support.”
Angelica Tremblay, Dominion Grace Ministries
“It’s been so mind blowing the opportunities. Thank you from my heart, thank you that not only I, but we, could help so many across this great land and reach areas that are usually closed doors. I am so indebted to all the wonderful donors who are such an incredible lifeline to many.”
Recipient of a vaccum cleaner
“I am so very grateful for being gifted a vacuum cleaner. I know this might sound odd but I've just been using a broom for the 2 rugs I have on the floor. I am waiting for plans from the draftsman for our rebuild so hopefully by this time next year we will have a home again. Thank you again for your kindness."
Help provide bushfire relief
UPDATE FEBRUARY 2024: GIVIT is assisting people in Western Victoria impacted by bushfires in regions such as Pomonal and Dadswell Bridge. You can see what's needed and donate money, items or time through our Victoria Bushfire Appeal.
GIVIT is also working to help communities impacted by the bushfires in the Western Downs in late 2023, including the residents of Tara. You can help by donating to our Queensland Bushfire Appeal.
Thanks to our supporters
National Disaster and Emergency Partner
Donors
ACT Brumbies, AllightSykes, Anglo American, Amcos Group, Bunnings, CBCA, Coco Republic, ConocoPhillips, CUB, Do Good Labs, Hanes Australasia, IKEA, Koala, Le Creuset, Mecca, Metal Manufactures Ltd, Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd, Mosaic Brands Ltd, NSW Business Chamber, Pottery Barn, Queensland Rail, Reece, Salt & Pepper Homewares, Sealy, Smiggle, Star Entertainment Group, Swanky Socks, Tabcorp, Taubmans, The Lott, XTM Performance, Dyson
All data to 9 January 2023.
