Rural Aid Farm Army helps Trundle and learns a thing or two about rural life

Posted on 26 June 201931 October 2023

When Rural Aid Farm Army project coordinators Lee and Rosie Bartlett and their band of volunteers were in Trundle, they were receiving thank yous from people in the community they weren’t directly helping.

But it’s what Lee described as the ripple effect.

From June 16-22, more than 70 volunteers from around NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria set up camp at the Trundle Showground to lend their hand on four farms and around the community.

From painting to plumbing, gardening to farm maintenance, whatever needed doing – the Farm Army did it.

They repaired fences on farms and at St Patrick’s Primary School and Trundle Central School, as well as doing some gardening.

They did landscaping at Berryman Oval and took on miscellaneous jobs around the Trundle Showground, including extending undercover shelter.

While some volunteers helped to install two kilometres of irrigation on one farm, to connect water to the home, others helped to tear down an old, leaking concrete water tank on another property and replaced it with a new tank.

There was also a mechanic who was helping to get old tractors on farms going again.

“Their response has been very welcoming, warm and gracious,” Lee said on Wednesday of the farmers and community groups they were helping.

Rosie added that it was very special when they had people who weren’t affiliated with these groups, thanking them for being here.

Foresythes Recruitment, who sponsored the Farm Army’s visit, brought 36 employees to Trundle, most them young people.

Every year the company holds a business conference, with Foresythes this year deciding to coincide it with their trip to Trundle and calling it the Paper Cuts for Blisters conference.

The Bartletts, who originally come from Old Bar in NSW, were in Trundle for a month before the Farm Army arrived.

Their job is to scout areas that need a little help and to have everything set up and arranged in time for when the Farm Army arrives in town.

They met with committees, school principals, local businesses and farmers.

“Basically we let them know that we’re coming to Trundle, we’ve got the time and ask ‘can we give you a hand with anything while we’re here’?” Lee said.

“They help us too – it definitely works both ways.

“They help us to connect with the bush and our country cousins, and they give us a better understanding of life in rural areas.

“It’s like a refresher course on old fashion values,” he laughed.

The week-long initiative involved the entire community in every way, with even the local lady who drives the school bus stopping in at the Trundle Showground kitchen to help make sandwiches for the volunteers to take with them for lunch, a great example.

“That’s amazing,” Rosie said of the generous act.

The two schools also cooked dinner for the army, while another night volunteers dined out to help boost local business. They also purchased their products and supplies needed for the week locally.

On top of the hands-on projects, Rural Aid handed out $45,000, in the form of visa cards called Country Cards, to Parkes Shire farmers who had registered with the charity.

Farm Army program manager Julia Hahn said they gave $500 Country Cards to 90 farmers.

The money that funds the Country Cards was raised from their Adopt a Farmer campaign.

“If they don’t get them on this run, they get them in the post,” Julia said.

“That’s just one of the initiatives we have.

“When you spend $1, it gets re-spent three to five times before it ends up leaving the town.

“It helps to regenerate the local economy and helps to keep the money in town a little bit longer.”

Robyn Wells from Trundle collected her Country Card on Wednesday. 

She said it was amazing to have the Farm Army in town and grateful they were handing out money to farmers who really needed it. 

“It’s just a surprise they’re able to donate so much and that they’re able to do all of this,” she said.

“It’s a lovely surprise actually. 

“We also received hay from Rural Aid [a couple of months ago] and some water too. 

“They pumped water into our tanks. It’s expensive to buy water – we spend about $600 on one load and it doesn’t fill our two tanks.”

Volunteers Katie Stock from Meningie and Marshal Jacobs from Echuca left their own farms to help in Trundle, saying they wanted to support those who may be worse off than they were.

“I had the Farm Army do a Farm Rescue on my dairy farm and I wanted to give something back,” Marshal said.

The article’s credit is for the source : Parkes Champion-Post

CANBERRA GRAMMAR DONATES MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS TO COUNTRY COUSINS

Posted on 20 June 201931 October 2023

THOUSANDS of drought-affected country children have received musical instruments via their city cousins restoring joy to their lives thanks to Rural Aid’s ‘Gift of Music’ program.

Canberra Grammar School will hold a Moonlight Concert 2019 fundraiser for Rural Aid this Thursday, 20 June from 7 to 8.30 pm to purchase 20 guitars for Boorowa Public School in NSW affected by drought.

Rural Aid’s ‘Gift of Music’ program is designed to bring happiness to children in rural and remote areas by providing them with musical instruments to either augment or establish rural school music programs.

The concert is a student-led initiative of Canberra Grammar School that started in 2018. This year, School Vice-Captain and Year 12 student Oliver Merchant took the lead, using the funds raised from the concert as a way of lending a helping hand to people who put meals on our tables.

“People forget the importance of Australian farmers,” he said.

“You don’t realise what you have until it’s gone and it’s time to look at our own backyard to make a contribution to help people in rural communities – after all, we are one community.”

Canberra Grammar School is a co-educational boarding school with 2088 students including boarders who come from families of primary producers, rural towns and Indigenous communities.”

Rural Aid General Manager Wayne Thomson said, “We are asking all Australians who may have an instrument no longer in use, to consider donating it so we can share the resources with those that need them.”

“The gift of music can change a child’s life and the gift of an instrument to a rural school in need, can change many children’s lives,” he said.

“Much needed monetary donations (which are fully tax deductible) purchase instruments which are on teachers’ request lists and/or the repair of useful donated instruments.”

The Gift of Music program gives children access to life-changing opportunities which music provides in terms of socialisation in country towns, a new skill-set and the confidence, discipline and self-esteem which comes along with training and performance.

The instruments provided include ukuleles, guitars, percussion, strings, brass and woodwind, and come from schools committed to getting behind regional communities who are fundraising thousands of dollars to support disadvantaged school children.

Entry to the concert costs $10 and tickets can be purchased at the door or online at trybooking.com/BDEUI

The concert will be held at the Canberra Grammar School PDHPE Centre, 40 Monaro Crescent in Red Hill with all funds raised will be donated to Rural Aid.

To learn more about Rural Aid and Gift of Music visit: ruralaid.org.au or telephone 1300 327 624.

Image caption (L-R): Canberra Grammar students Saphyre Farrelly, Sebastian Bonanno, Oliver Merchant, Maddie Pik and Rafael Priest.

[All students are involved with organising or playing in the Moonlight Concert].

Media contacts: 
Richard Forbes – 0427270687 or Canberra Grammar School Strategic Communications Manager Reece Cummings 02 6260 9731 | 0411 835 510

Rural Aid’s Farm Army is helping to spread the love at Trundle

Posted on 19 June 201931 October 2023

Four Trundle farmers and the wider community have been provided a much needed boost thanks to the week long effort from 70 volunteers.

Since June 16, the Farm Army, a project of Rural Aid, have been out in force within the town helping not only the farmers but local schools with various projects.

The volunteers will be in town until June 22 and will provide school children with musical instruments through its Gift of Music program, plus boxes of Lego, stationery and an iPad.

Foresythes Recruitment have sponsored 35 employees to be on the ground helping lend a hand.

Rural Aid also provided country cards to help farmers purchase food for their families and much-needed goods.

A Rural Aid counsellor has been offering mental health support to the rural community.

The Farm Army were only last year in Forbes helping their local rural community.

The Western Magazine spoke to Farm Army manager Julia Hahn ahead of their visit who said upon speaking with drought affected farmers you realise it is the entire the community that suffers.

“The farmers have children, the farmers have wives, they have to do their shopping in town. There’s a domino affect from the harsh reality that the drought brings,” she said.

“We want to support the whole town, that’s our aim, to spread the love as much as we can.”

Ms Hahn said it was important to get out to western NSW to areas where they are needed most. Many of the volunteer helpers include grey-nomads, tradespeople and people willing to lend a hand.

“And they go home as a big family, making new friends not only with the Farm Army but with the farmers that they’ve worked with…. that’s really special to see those bonds forming…,” Ms Hahn said.

Where possible the Farm Army also purchase the products needed for that week at local businesses, Ms Hahn said.

“At the beginning of this year we decided we were going to go into a rural town with a holistic approach and we were going to touch as many people as we could within the community in that week,” she added.

“We’re helping as many people as we can and it’s important for all of the community to see that the rest of Australia does care and we do want to help. This is the Farm Army’s way of showing that the city really does care.”

“We’re just going to be in town… to give them a hug and life their spirits.”

There are many more Farm Army projects in the works this year and if anyone was interested in volunteering their time they only have to visit farmarmy.com.au and register.

This story Farm Army is helping to spread the love at Trundle first appeared on Western Magazine.

The article’s credit is for the source: Western Magazine

Rural Aid planning trip to South Burnett to lend a hand

Posted on 19 June 201931 October 2023

HELP is on the way for South Burnett farmers in need of a bit of extra assistance.

Rural Aid has agreed to set up a campsite in Wondai to fulfil a number of requests from drought-affected farmers in the region.

South Burnett Regional Councillor Kathy Duff said the council had been approached by the group to help with planning.

Rural Aid supports rural people through programs such as Buy a Bale and Farm Rescue.

“I think we are lucky that the Wondai community has been chosen and that some of our farmers will get some much-needed support,” Cr Duff said.

Rural Aid plans to make their trip to the region in October and will travel up to 35km to farms near Wondai.

The team of up to 50 grey nomads, who have a unique set of skills, will work on various farms during their stay.

They may also provide work for community groups if they have time.

“It is still early in their planning process and they are working with council and community groups to find a suitable venue and sort out the logistics of the project,” Cr Duff said.

The article’s credit is for the source: The South Burnett

Rural Aid delivers hay and musical instruments to the Upper Hunter

Posted on 17 June 201931 October 2023

Farmers aren’t the only ones who need a boost when it comes to battling unprecedented drought.

Their children also feel the affects of the situation.ADVERTISING

Charity Rural Aid are determined to help take their mind off their circumstances and give them “a mental health boost” through its Gift of Music program.

A pile of musical instruments were delivered to students at Muswellbrook South Public School on Friday, and the smiles on their faces said it all. 

The charity also brought iPads, Lego and stationary.

The donation was possible thanks to support from Meriton.

“We look at schools and music as a mental health shot in the arm for kids,” general manager Wayne Thomson said. 

“They are still affected by the drought, but in a different way. 

“If they were out with dad counting dead animals in the morning, it’s something nice to be able to go to school and be able to play a keyboard or a guitar, or play with some Lego and be a kid again, rather than thinking about the stress of what is happening at home.”

The entire Upper and Lower Hunter is still battling unprecedented drought and is classified as being in intense drought, drought or drought affected.

Rural Aid recently dropped off supplies to primary school students at Murrurundi Public School, which is one of the worst-hit areas.

“The teacher tried to thank us on the last day we were there and the tears took over and she said ‘you’ve impacted our school, you’ve changed it and made it better’,” he said.

Rural Aid will take musical supplies to Aberdeen Public School, north of Muswellbrook, on Tuesday.

The charity also dropped off hay bales to a farmer at Denman, which was also sponsored by Meriton. 

“One local farmer told me this would give him six week’s worth of feed for his herd, enough time to catch up on some other bills,” Mr Thomson said.

“Another told me he could now get his car repaired, while another said this doesn’t solve the problem, but it sure helps.”

Mr Thomson said conditions remained extremely challenging.

“There are people who think the drought is over and we are trying to remind them that it’s not over. In some places the ground might look green but it’s mostly dirt. Farmers and their communities still need our support,” he said.

“Where there is some green it’s not long enough for a cow to get their tongue around. 

“The Bureau of Meterology and the NSW Department of Primary Industries are talking about this year possibly being worse than last year.”

The article credit is for the source: The Maitland Mercury