Generous Council staff help others

Friday, 21 December, 2007

Staff from Port Macquarie-Hastings Council have dug deep and have donated more than $2,300 to local charities in the past few weeks.

Earlier this month, 110 council staff 'teed off' in the annual charity golf day at the Wauchope Golf Course and raised more than $1,500 for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.

One of the event organisors, Ray Barry, said, "Each year we hold the golf day to raise money for different charities. This year we chose the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service because of the great work they do in our area.

"With so many accidents occurring on our roads, particularly at this time of the year, we could at some point in time depend on the rescue service, so Council staff thought it is important to support them, Mr Barry said.

Council's Human Resources department staff decided to get into the Christmas spirit and collect money for the Port Macquarie Soup Kitchen.

Instead of decorating their office with Christmas tinsel, staff members Alyson Lane and Cheryl Coombe asked Council staff to donate money to charity and pin a donation card on a Christmas tree. 

Council's Human Resources Manager, Juliet van Oirschot said, "We helped raise $885 for the soup kitchen in just over two weeks. It is a fantastic result and will go a long way to assist the hard working kitchen volunteers to continue helping those less fortunate in our community.

"I'd like to especially thank all of the Council staff who worked so hard to make the Charity Golf Day and the Soup Kitchen donations a huge success. 

"At a time when many people are having a difficult time making ends meet, Council staff have shown how generously they are, Ms van Oirschot said.