When the business owners of Gundagai spotted a way to help local cancer charity Can Assist, they leapt into action.
Noticing Can Assist’s volunteers needed to organise multiple drivers to collect donated Return and Earn drink containers for fundraising, two local businesses decided there was an easier way.
Eureka Truck Repair’s Jarrod and Michelle Bell, and Mark Eccleston from Eccleston’s Plumbing, came up with the idea of a community-funded trailer to collect Return and Earn containers - and were quickly joined by other local businesses.
“We ended up with 14 Gundagai businesses (including ourselves) getting involved to fund the trailer,” said Jarrod.
“A local graphic designer, Joe Morton from Goanna Graphics, donated his skills to make the great graphic for the side of the trailer.
“The local hardware store, Mitre 10, which is the over-the-counter return point here in Gundagai, also donated bins for different businesses to use to collect containers for Can Assist.”
“It’s always the older, retired or semi-retired people involved in these charities and we thought if they just had a purpose-built trailer, they could hook it up, put some wheelie bins in and collect the cans nice and easy.
“If you can make the job easier, it is going to be easier to get volunteers to do the collections. And in 10 years, this trailer should still be going around.”
Can Assist provides practical help and financial support for locals undergoing cancer treatment, such as helping to cover travel and accommodation costs associated with their care.
Can Assist Gundagai president Phil Smith said the new trailer would be a fantastic help for volunteers.
“We go to local footy games and the announcer lets people know they can put cans into our bins for the charity. And it has snowballed from there, with people contacting us letting us know they have cans at their house to donate to us,” said Phil.
The community has rallied behind the fundraising effort, with around $1,100 worth of cans donated to Can Assist at the popular Snake Gully Cup horse racing event at Gundagai Racecourse.
The Can Assist trailer and Return and Earn fundraising bins will also collect more cans at the local rodeo on November 29.
Gundagai residents can directly donate containers to Can Assist’s Return and Earn fundraiser at Gundagai Mitre 10.
“We have a collection tin for Can Assist on the counter and people can return their cans here and choose if they want to put the cash in the tin,” said Gundagai Mitre 10 owner Aaron Kilmurray.
“Can Assist is a really good little organisation. They do a good job with helping the local people getting to appointments.”
