Flood appeal - why cash donations are preferred

One of our members, Tanya Love, is out helping at a donation centre in Brisbane today and has sent this photo through, here is her message:

"This is what the donation centres out here are dealing with! It is only one of MANY piles in this one centre alone. It DELAYS the support reaching the affected people. PLEASE sort and label your donations & don't donate rubbish! They are throwing away as much stuff as they are distributing. These people DO NOT need stuffed toys and broken crockery, nor do they deserve it!! If you are donating, please do so thoughtfully, these families' hearts are broken, they don't deserve broken stuff too!"

Please, if you're donating things only send good quality or near new items and sort and label everything. If you're yet to donate and deciding on whether to send things or a cash donation, please send money, that way people can buy the things that they need from local businesses in the flood affected regions who are also doing it tough right now.
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Helping children recover emotionally following disaster

From personal experience following Cyclone Larry I know that many children will take time to recover emotionally following the floods this year. There are lots of ways to help your kids through this and I thought I'd share a few here, please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below too.

Here are some ways you can help your children to get back on track in the days and weeks following the event:

1. Talk about what happened, try to be calm and honest about what has happened and what will be happening in the clean up stage and beyond.

2. Allowing children the opportunity to tell their story is really important and helps a lot in the long term recovery. Depending on your child's age this can be through drawing pictures, writing stories, poetry or simply telling their story.

3. Encourage children to play. children use play to help them better understand their world and their own emotions. Catherine Oehlman of Squigglemum.com has written a post about flood play here, and we're supporting the Playgroup Queensland 'Keep kids playing' appeal.

4. Focus on the positive, talk about all the wonderful people helping others, the great work done by the emergency services etc. think of ways your child can be involved in helping too where appropriate, as this can be very healing. Limit negative exposure where possible be especially conscious of the TV news.

5. Find opportunities to socialise with others, being with other kids can be a great way for children to relax and leave their worries behind, its also very important for mums too!

6. Be aware that children whose homes weren't directly affected may still be traumatised by the event. It can be very confronting to see your community in distress. Ensure that these children are given the opportunity to express their emotions too and that their story and experience is as valid as anyone else's.

7. Children pick up on adults reactions - trust your judgment on this one, as its important to be honest and to show them that its ok to be upset but at the same time if you're stressed about insurance claims, financial problems etc they don't really need to know all the ins and outs, just try to be sensitive.

8. It can take several months before things return to normal particularly where homes have been damaged - this is difficult for everyone,

9. Ensure that your emotional needs are met too and that you are looking after yourself, take some time out and accept offers of help from friends and family - if you feel good you're much more capable of looking after your family well. You might find that you are quite resilient and strong for the first week or so and then begin feeling sad and grieving later, allow yourself time to heal.

10. If your child continues to be anxious, fearful or depressed after some time, seek help.

Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy, especially the mums we're here for you if you need us.

Peace & Katy xx

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Ten ways you can help in the disaster aftermath

If you're in SE Qld and feeling helpless here are some things that you might be able to do to help your local community get back on track in the days, weeks and months following this disaster.

(Please ensure that you and your home are Ok and its safe for you to go first though):


1. Volunteer to help out at the evacuation centres, they'll need people to help with things like preparing food and ensuring everyone is ok physically and emotionally

2. If you're in a street or suburb which has been effected ensure your neighbours are OK - especially elderly people

3. Prepare meals for friends and neighbours who's homes, businesses or properties have been effected - this will be an extremely stressful time for many people

4. Offer to do washing for friends and neighbours without power

5. Give people a ring - it can do so much to boost people's spirits to know that you are thinking of them

6. Offer to mind children of friends and neighbours who have been affected

7. Contact local charity organizations such as red cross, vinnies lifeline, rotary and see if they need help

8. Get in touch with local schools, childcare centres, kindys etc that you are involved with and offer to help

9. In the weeks ahead spend some extra time socialising with friends or family who have been involved, people are often very resilient in the first few days and may have delayed shock until several weeks later

10. Don't be afraid to ask for help yourself - even if your own property was undamaged seeing your community devastated can be an emotional experience and you need to ensure you are OK too


It can take 12 months - 2 years to fully recover emotionally from a large scale event such as this, our thoughts are with all of you, stay strong.


At times like this we all need to do what we can to help, please add your tips and ideas in the comments below.
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