GIVIT is providing mattresses to bushfire affected residents in southeast NSW. Photo: Supplied.
National online charity GIVIT has donated more than 250 Sealy Australia mattresses to southeast NSW residents affected by the Black Summer bushfires.
Local residents still recovering from the devastation of the fires have received single, queen and king-size mattresses during the past 12 months, from Narooma to Cooma and as far south as Kiah.
Service NSW bushfire customer care specialist Deena Waterson said GIVIT is the perfect way for individuals and companies to have a direct positive influence on the lives of people in need.
“Many people’s finances are still extremely stretched, and their item losses are substantial,” she said. “GIVIT has been unbelievably responsive to our requests for a range of items, coordinating water tanks, gas fridges, replacement tools, generators and furniture, to name just a few.
“The benefit of GIVIT has been twofold for the people we’re helping. People who have experienced losses in bushfires receive a replacement item – something tangible – which helps them see and believe in progress, and reminds them that complete strangers care about their situation.
“Many people in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions – who were still attempting to understand their own losses – were feeling forgotten and invisible. But these acts of generosity speak volumes to them.”
GIVIT’s Caroline Odgers is working with bushfire affected communities in southeast NSW. Photo: Supplied.
Sealy Australia managing director Simon Dyer said the company’s team wanted to do something practical and meaningful for those people who needed it most after the unprecedented bushfires.
“Our Sealy family wanted to help those impacted by devastating bushfires the best way we know, with a safe and great bed to sleep in and recover,’’ he said.
“We knew a lot of very deserving people had nowhere to put a bed. GIVIT allowed us to manage our donations so new beds could be delivered once residents were ready to receive essential household items.
“What’s really important to us here at Sealy is at the end of the process. We know the people who have lost so much have received a new bed, and [they] know someone cares about what they have gone through and wants to help.”
GIVIT has coordinated more than 160,000 items to support NSW communities still rebuilding, from gas ovens and converted shipping containers for families camping on their properties, to hardware equipment, as well as Snake Bite First Aid Kits for people in towns hours away from medical assistance.
GIVIT regional manager Caroline Odgers said the charity’s key focus is to continue coordinating the generosity of donors to ensure no resident or bushfire affected community is forgotten.
“From Kiah to Conjola, Broulee to Batlow, and the dozens of incredible bushfire-hit communities across NSW, generous donations allow GIVIT to provide exactly what’s needed by stoic locals doing it tough,” she said.
To donate, or for more information about GIVIT’s NSW Bushfires Appeal, visit the GIVIT website – 100 per cent of donated funds received are used to purchase items for people in need.
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