By Melissa Grant
MORE than $60,000 worth of hay bales has been donated in an extraordinary fundraising effort to help farmers in need of feed.
Those in need of fencing have also been given a helping hand, with hundreds of volunteers heading out to fix damaged fence lines in Drouin West, Labertouche, Jindivick and surrounding areas.
Bayles CFA co-ordinated the amazing effort that has seen more than 340 volunteers – and counting – from across Victoria offer assistance and thousands of hay bales donated.
The fire brigade put the call out last week after the devastating Bunyip Ridge blaze that razed farmland in the region.
Bayles CFA captain Karleen Elledge said the response had been “amazing”.
“The plan was to get a couple of hundred bales of hay,” she said.
“I had people contacting me saying, ‘what can we do to help?’
“Hay donations are coming out of our ears, which is really good.”
Plans to help the fire victims were postponed on Friday night because the blaze flared up, but 90 volunteers turned out on Saturday and another 250 on Sunday.
Ms Elledge said people had come from as far as the other side of the city to help distribute hay and to fix fencing.
There are volunteers working on farms throughout the week and more will help over the weekend,” she said.
Ms Elledge said the operation aimed to help all those in need – including owners of fire-damaged hobby farms.
While many Victorians have dug deep, some have taken advantage of fire victims.
Ms Elledge said at least two people slept at the station each night, fearing looters would make off with donations.
“I’ve slept here every night,” she said. “Because we’ve got so much here we have to protect it.”
