What would you do with 1.2 million eggs?
You could make 600,000 omelettes. You could organise the world’s biggest egg & spoon race. Or you could raise fifty thousand dollars to help voluntary organisations continue to serve the Kinglake Ranges community by providing essential emergency services.
Sunny Queen and Kinross Farm have done just that. By joining forces, the two egg suppliers have managed to raise $50,000 for Kinglake volunteer services including CFA, SES and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) through the sale of their “Kinglake Ranges Bushfire Appeal” eggs.
The Bushfire Appeal eggs were sold throughout Victoria to help raise money for Kinglake Ranges voluntary emergency services following the 2009 Victorian bushfires. Situated in Kinglake, Kinross Farm came under intense fire attack on Black Saturday, so appreciates first hand the value that these organisations contribute to the community.
According to Kinross Farm’s Philip Szepe, without the volunteer services in the hours, days and months following the fires so much more would have been lost. “They are the backbone of the community, all playing vital roles in delivering essential services in the region,” he said.
“As a result of the fires, the Kinglake region has lost a significant percentage of its population, and with that, volunteers. It’s more important than ever that we support our local voluntary organisations and the incredibly important work they do for us all.”
One such organisation is Flowerdale CFA, who believes the donation is invaluable. “This is one of the largest donations we have ever received,” said Glen Woods of Flowerdale CFA. “A donation of this size makes a huge impact on our brigade because we are a very small community, and as such receive little funding. Prior to this I would have to sell Freddo frogs at the local Trade School to raise funds.”
Craig Lawless of the Kinglake CFA shares the same sentiment. “This donation is the equivalent of the brigade doing a meat tray raffle every Friday night at the local hotel for a year.”
Having the support of one of the country’s leading suppliers of eggs, Sunny Queen Farms, has proved invaluable also.
“We are owned by Australian farmers, and can appreciate the hardships that come with living and working in regional areas. The Victorian bushfires affected the entire country, and like many Australians we wanted to do what we could to help,” said Julie Proctor of Sunny Queen.
“At Sunny Queen we believe in the power of optimism, and pride ourselves on being able to inject a little bit of positivity into people’s lives through the simplest of means. Whether it’s with our smiley faced eggs or making a much needed donation to a very worthy cause – every egg counts.”
