Noticeboard - Week 6 & 7

Some new TREW friends...all the way from Scotland!

Here are some photos of our TREW fundraiser play day yesterday. We raised 728 AUD, which will be on its way to you shortly for your continuing fire relief work. We had a fabulously fun day, and even the Scottish weather was kind. Our very best wishes to all of you who are dedicated to the horse.
Sue Savvy Scotland (Fife group)

What an amazing effort Sue and friends! Thank you sincerely from all of those involved in our relief effort. That is a substantial amount of money that you guys have managed to raise, and your efforts are very much appreciated.

Thank you for arranging your play day Sue, and for thinking of the Australian horses and owners impacted by our devastating fires, despite the fact that you are on the other side of the world! We are humbled by your compassion and kindness, and hope that you will stay in touch.

Thank you to Horserail

Many thanks to Johanna and Ben Duncan from Horserail Australia.

As mentioned in an earlier entry on the Notice boards, Horserail Australia has contributed an extremely generous contribution towards our efforts to assist horse owner impacted by the fires, to re fence their properties.

Pictured is Ben Duncan from Horserail Australia, at our Equine Relief Centre, presenting TREW member Sammi Whitehead with their contribution.

10 rolls of 'Horsecote', (a thick coated sighter wire – 400m per roll), and 10 rolls of 'Hotcote', (an electric version of the sighter wire) – valued at approx $7000. The product is a permanent/semi permanent fencing system but is a lot safer than normal wire and stronger than electric tape.

In total this amount of wire will fence 8km. It is easy to use and strains up just like normal wire. The electric coated wire will hook up to any electric fencing unit.

On behalf of the many fire affected horses and their owners who will benefit from this donation, thank you sincerely.

Donations

As of 11/3/09, donations to the TREW Fire Relief Effort totaled $22,480.90. This is an incredible response from the Equine Community, and we take very seriously our responsibility to manage these funds to best advantage to fire affected equines and their owners on behalf of donors.

Speaking with those 'on the ground', the message comes through loud and clear that the priority at present is fencing. We have wonderful partners and donors in Darken Ag/Clark Equipment, and Horserail Australia, but there is a huge demand for bulk amounts of star pickets right now. This is the first purchase we will be making with donated funds, as it is something that will go out immediately into the community, and be of immediate benefit when it comes to securing the safety of horses, and the peace of mind of their owners. We will notify when the star pickets are available at the relief centre.

Media Release - Rotary Club of Grafton

GRAFTON, Tuesday 17th March 2009. The Rotary Club of Grafton, in conjunction with Victorian charity Triple R Equine Welfare and local retailer Valley Country, has launched an appeal for horse owners affected by the Black Saturday bushfires. It has now been over a month since the bushfires devastated many parts of Victoria. Apart from the tragic loss of human life, hundreds of horses also died in the fires and many horse owners lost all of their horse equipment. Triple R Equine Welfare has been working hard to provide relief to horse owners, especially those with injured or evacuated horses. However to use Prince Harry's recent description, the tragedy is far from over. Items that Triple R indicates are in particularly high demand include riding helmets, saddles, rugs (especially in sizes 5'6" to 6'9") and grooming equipment (all those little bits and pieces that are so essential, such as brushes and hoof picks) visit www.triplerequinewelfare.org.au (Donations Closed)

The NSW North Coast has one of the highest rates of horse ownership in Australia says Grafton Rotarian Rob Byrne, owner of Valley Country. Most horse owners have spare horse gear they no longer use so what we're doing is acting as a collection point for people to drop off whatever they can spare, whether it's saddlery, grooming gear, riding wear, etc. We encourage people to attach a note with their contribution showing their name and a message of support.

While much of the donated gear will be boxed (in packaging materials provided by Harvey Norman), we are asking that all gear be clean and in good repair, says Byrne. People can drop off their items at Valley Country, 130 Prince Street, Grafton (Donations Closed) or at their local Westlawn Finance office. With eleven offices from Kempsey to Murwillumbah, Westlawn will forward these items to Valley Country for inclusion in the shipment. Westlawn's participation dramatically increases the reach of the appeal.

Coates Hire in Coffs Harbour has donated a 20ft shipping container that will be located outside Valley Country during the appeal. Local transport company, Blanchards Haulage, will be shipping the container to Sydney where Linfox Logistics will on-ship it to Victoria.

Many local businesses are contributing, including several media organisations. Bunnings Warehouse and Shiralee Produce are donating a whole range of products desperately needed by the horse owners. Valley Country is contributing saddlery and clothing and is promoting the appeal to its 12,000 Internet customers around the world. If you don't have any spare horse gear but would still like to make your contribution to the container, you can buy brand new items at very generous discounts from Valley Country, either in-store or at valleycountry.com.

David Morgan, President of the Rotary Club of Grafton, is asking for more local businesses and individuals to show their generosity. The Victorian bushfires are a natural disaster on a scale unprecedented in Australia and any assistance you can provide will be very greatly appreciated by the victims, not just for its financial value but for the show of support that it represents.

For further information, please contact:
Rob Byrne
Publicity Officer, Rotary Club of Grafton, and Director, Valley Country
(02) 6643 2311
rob@valleycountry.com

Fire Relief