As Aussies begin the lengthy process of cleaning up and recovering following the recent floods in Victoria and NSW, many of us watching on will want to lend a helping hand.
Whether you are hoping to volunteer your time or donate, there are plenty of ways to pitch in to help, including these five.
Donate money
Donating money is usually the most effective way to help, with the Community Enterprise Foundation, Bendigo Bank’s charitable arm, calling for donations for flood victims which will be passed on to local charitable areas.
You can also make financial donations to flood appeals that have been started by charities, including the Red Cross, St Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army, Food Bank NSW, and OzHarvest Victoria.
The Victorian Farmers Federation has also started a Disaster Relief Fund to assist farmers affected by floods, with donations able to be taken over the phone on 1800 882 833 or by mailing through a cheque.
Volunteer with SES
If you want to get your hands dirty, you can apply to be a volunteer with the State Emergency Service (SES) in NSW or a regular volunteer with SES Victoria.
As a spontaneous volunteer, members of the community can assist NSW SES during emergencies in a range of ways without a long-term commitment. These can include helping people prepare for flooding, answering phones and providing administrative support, clearing debris, or in a logistical role providing support to crews in the field, among others.
By becoming a volunteer with SES Victoria, you can assist with emergency response to storms and floods and other duties. Unlike being a spontaneous volunteer, joining as a regular volunteer is a longer-term commitment.
To find out more about volunteering with SES NSW or Victoria, head here or here.
Lend a hand how you can with Emergency Support Volunteering or Blaze Aid
Whether you’re handy with tools or are happy to provide social support, there’s a way you can help as a volunteer with Emergency Support Volunteering in NSW.
After signing up and nominating how you want to help, the organisation passes your details to verified organisations near you.
To sign up or find out more, head here.
For Victorians looking to volunteer, Blaze Aid is currently recruiting and assembling teams of volunteers in central Victoria. The organisation will be setting up camps from next week.
Donate clothes and essentials
With many victims losing their possessions, donating clothes and household items can also be a big help.
GIVIT, a crowd-sourced website, is open to donations of clothing, furniture, money for fuel, and vouchers for other essentials, with 11,000 items that are needed being listed.
Donations of food, emergency housing and clothing can also be made through St Vincent de Paul, either as one-off or ongoing donations.
Fundraise
If you want to set up a fundraiser or appeal to help victims, the best way to do it is through an existing charity, which can be found through the ACNC, Service NSW, or Consumer Affairs Victoria websites.
According to Fairtrading NSW, if you are allowed to fundraise on behalf of an authorised fundraiser, such as a charity, you won’t need to get approval.
If you decide to raise funds through crowdfunding, such as using websites such as GoFundMe, you may need to apply for an authority to raise money.
Image: Getty Images
This article first appeared on OverSixty.