We are all aware of the tragedy that swept though and left its mark on Victoria last weekend, and here is one sample, of Apex Victoria going into action and “Helping to build better communities”
Greater Melbourne District Governor Phil Keily received a call on Monday Night at about 10.00pm, from the Red Cross, requesting assistance from Apex to feed the survivors and the many people already being brought into the area to provide ongoing support.
A call was made to Diamond Valley Apex Club and arrangements were made with Andrew Follows and John Franceschini to have the Diamond Valley BBQ delivered into Kinglake by 7.30am on Tuesday morning.
John then rallied the clubs resources and arranged for club members, family and friends to man the trailer to prepare and cook food provided by Red Cross for the masses.
On Tuesday night it became apparent that this was going to require an effort that was far greater than one club as there was a bare minimum of 8-10 people needed on a daily basis. An email was sent by Phil putting out the call for help via the State Board and all fellow District Governors. The result has been terrific with a roster being put in place from all the volunteers so that there are 8-10 people on the mountain every day, running the BBQ’s from 7.30am-7.30pm daily.
To date we have had approximately 60 members, partners, family, friends and work associates assist with the cooking of food at Kinglake with around 720 service hours in 6 days being completed. This figure does not include the travel time to and from Kinglake.
For an example of what has been supplied and cooked over the past week here is a glimpse of the supplies utilised on Friday:
• 1700 snags
• 30 kg of scotch fillet
• 30 kg of chicken – legs and breasts
• 30 kg of bacon
• 25 dozen eggs
• 60 kg of onions
• 100 loaves of bread
• And a pacific ocean of tomato sauce.
In addition to this were cakes, corn chips, breakfast cereals, fruit, ice and uncountable quantities of bottled water and soft drinks.
An example of people that we are cooking for covers some of the following:
• Local residents
• Council Employees
• CFA Volunteers
• New South Wales Fire Service Volunteers
• South Australian Fire Service
• SES
• Police Victoria, Queensland Federal, New Zealand
• Victorian Ambulance Service
• Red Cross
• Department of Health and Community Services
• Australian Government Community Recovery from WA, SA, NT, Vic, QLD, NSW ACT and TAS
• Service Providers – Telstra, SEC, and contractors
• Insurance and Banking company personnel
• Gideon Society
• Rovers
• The Salvos
• Red Cross
The response that we have had to the call for help has been fantastic but also typical of the Apex spirit. There have been members, family and friends of members from the following clubs:
• Diamond Valley Apex Club
• Eureka Apex Club
• Hoppers Crossing Apex Club
• Nunawading Apex Club
• Rowville Apex Club
• Wendouree Apex Club
• Wodonga Apex Club
Our efforts are still ongoing, and there will still be a need for sustained efforts over the next few weeks / months, but I would like to say thankyou to all these people for your efforts to date. This has meant a great deal to the survivors and the volunteers in these areas. So many have commented that they cannot quite believe the response to this disaster and what a relief it has been to get a hot meal and a drink in such a time.
Many thanks to all Apex Volunteers
Phillip Keily
DG – Greater Melbourne 2008 / 2009
