As community life starts to resume in south-east Queensland’s flood impacted communities, Thiess Mud Army mobiliser Phil Woods, shares the impact of our response and details how we can contribute to the long-term recovery of impacted residents.
“In SEQ, as soon as it was safe to do so, we mobilised our efforts enabling our team to Volunteer Join Give – volunteer to support impacted residents, join through the Thiess Mud Army and give by donating to flood response agencies (St Vincent de Paul, the Red Cross and GIVIT).
“Through our Thiess Mud Army, we focused our efforts on Goodna – a suburb in the Ipswich Council area – and one that was severely impacted by the floods.
“More than 65 Thiess employees volunteered their time in support of this community, just up the road from our Darra Component Rebuild Centre.
“In the 10 days immediately after the floods, we worked with authorities (the Army, State Emergency Services, Ipswich City Council, State and Federal representatives) to assist with coordination efforts and assess community need. Our Thiess volunteers:
- Delivered cleaning products to every impacted household in Goodna
- Distributed more than 2000 litres each of bleach, disinfectant and sanitiser
- Cleared and cleaned more than 30 residences.
“We sought to provide comfort and a friendly face to residents, volunteers and emergency services by cooking and serving more than 2,500 hot meals (sourcing as much as possible from local businesses without disrupting local supply), keeping people refreshed and hydrated and offering them a break from cleaning. Our team also delivered food and cold drinks to people unable to leave their properties.
“Thiess team members unable to provide on the ground support have been able to contribute through financial donations to Thiess fundraising pages with St Vincent de Paul and the Red Cross and also by making donations of physical items through GIVIT.”