For more than 40 years, CFA brigades in the Mount Macedon and Mount Alexander regions have been collecting for the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal, and in that time they have collected many millions of dollars. However, this year, due to the virus, things have had to change.
Traditionally, brigades have used the Good Friday Appeal as the focus of their efforts, with volunteers, families and friends walking the streets of their towns shaking their containers as they go door to door.
“This year we have been forced to do things very differently,” said Woodend CFA captain and Mount Macedon Group media officer Mike Dornau, who has also coordinated the Woodend collection for more than 10 years.
“Woodend and neighbouring CFA brigades (Newham and Hesket-Kerrie) have been collecting for this worthy appeal since 1980, and in that time we have collected a total of more than $265,000.
“In the last 10 years, we have averaged around $12,000 a year, but this year we will be struggling to get anywhere near that as volunteers are not able to undertake the door knock due to restrictions,” he said.
Technology has come to the rescue, with the introduction of the Good Friday Virtual Tin Shake, which is a way that community members can still donate to the Children’s Hospital Appeal via their local CFA brigade by donating online.
“Woodend registered for the Virtual Tin Shake several weeks ago and last Friday went online, and we immediately started getting donations,” Mr Dornau said.
“I have since discovered that most of the CFA brigades in the Mount Macedon and Mount Alexander regions are taking part in the Virtual Tin Shake.”
To donate, go to the Virtual Tin Shake website and follow the links, or you can go directly to your local CFA brigade’s Virtual Tin Shake page. You can go to the Woodend CFA Facebook page or website and click on the appropriate links, or you can visit fundraising.virtualtinshake.com/Woodend to log in directly.
To go directly to your local brigade collection page, you just change the word Woodend at the end of the log in and add your own town.
