The Bundaberg Make A Wish Foundation is teaming up with local organisations and the Container For Change scheme to continue their fundraising efforts for sick children.
Spokesman Nathan Pole said the foundation recently received a micro grant of $995 from Bundaberg Regional Council to purchase new Containers For Change bins.
“We were able to purchase six bins with specifically designed tops,” he said.
“The idea behind the yellow bin tops is to stand out from the other rubbish bins and limit the amount of general waste that sometimes mistakenly placed in our bins.”
Nathan said the bins were currently situated at TAFE Queensland East Coast on Walker Street for a trial period.
“It is hoped that it will not only provide us with revenue, but also reduce the general waste at the campus,” he said.
“We appreciate TAFE allowing us to locate the bins at the Bundaberg campus and are hopeful that we may be able to roll the program out to the remaining campuses this year.”
Nathan said the Containers For Change scheme was helping the foundation to obtain much-needed funds in an easier and more cost effective way.
“For quite a number of years Miara Holiday Park has collected aluminum cans for us to recycle,” he said.
“Recycling the cans used to net us 90 cents/kilogram but under the new Containers for Change Scheme, that same kilogram of cans now makes us $7.10.
“We quickly realised that not only do we receive more money for the cans, we can also collect the other eligible containers.”
Community support vital for Make A Wish
Nathan said it was through support of the local community, like the team at Mira Holiday Park, that bolstered fundraising efforts for the foundation.
“With the help of the Miara Holiday Park managers Erin and Peter we have made over $2000 since the new scheme was introduced,” he said.
“We hope to replicate this revenue stream at the TAFE campus over the next 12 months and expand it to other locations.
“We are also considering the option of purchasing more bins and using them at local events held in the Bundaberg Region.”
Nathan said every dollar raised through scheme meant more wishes could come true for critically ill children and their families.
“The Make-A-Wish Bundaberg branch has been operating locally for more than 30 years and during that time we have granted over 175 wishes for seriously ill children in our local area,” he said.
Anybody who would like more details about Make-A-Wish Bundaberg Branch are encouraged to ring Volunteer Coordinator Lester Rodgers on 0429110847.
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