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Monash support for fire victims

18 February 2009

Mairi Rose McLeod
Mairi Rose McLeod with some of the many items donated by staff in the Medicine faculty.
Shez Cantlie
Shez Cantlie from Health Wellbeing and Development, Peninsula campus.

The tragic events of the past two weeks have had a deep and lasting impact on the Monash community and staff and students have rallied around those affected.

Collection points were quickly set up on campuses for people to donate goods to the relief effort.

At the Berwick campus, the School of Information Technology set up a collection point to provide food, clothing, torches, batteries and toys to the fire victims.

After hearing of the fires student residential advisers and Monash Residential Services staff from Berwick, Caulfield, Gippsland and Peninsula abandoned their weekend workshop and volunteered at the Gippsland campus staging area, preparing meals and making beds.

Staff of the Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and the Matheson Library at Clayton organised a collection for Animal Aid and the RSPCA.

Several tonnes of blankets, food, cat litter and bowls quickly piled up in the offices of Kane Simons and Mairi Rose McLeod (pictured top right) and have been delivered to the RSPCA and collection points in Whittlesea and Coldstream.

Pet food and blankets also came flooding in after a similar collection was organised by Health and Wellbeing at the Peninsula campus (pictured right).

Thousands of dollars have been raised through fundraising events and collections for the Red Cross and Salvation Army at all Monash campuses.

The University has also set up a website to provide staff and students with information about how they can help in the aftermath of the bushfires.

For more information visit the Bush Fire Response website.

A benefit concert will be held at the Gippsland campus on Saturday 21 February at 7 pm to raise money for the bush fire victims. The concert will include much-loved Australian country singer Sara Storer, US singer Tony Childs, Mia Dyson and Liz Stringer.