
Lighthouse activates GV Cares for flood relief
With flood waters rising over the weekend of October 15 and 16, Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project activated its GV Cares initiative to support the Greater Shepparton community. Once it was established that Shepparton Foodshare would be out of action due to their premises being cut off because of the floods it became evident that managing crisis food relief was a priority. Between October 18-25, GV Cares sourced food from over 20 different supermarkets, local businesses/farms and organisations and delivered a total of 2657 hampers to residents across our region.
With a crew of 150 volunteers contributing over the week-long effort, GV Cares provided food hampers and supplies to satellite hubs in Mooroopna, Murchison, Tatura, Undera, Barmah, Cummeragunja and Shepparton. Food hampers were also delivered to various community service groups and schools. Items such as medication, nappies, baby formula and sanitary items were supplied as requested.
None of this would have been possible without the assistance of the amazing volunteers. ‘Our incredible community has again come out in full force. It was amazing to see what could be achieved in such a short time frame, we really can’t thank our volunteers enough’ said Amy Robinson, Executive Officer of Greater Shepperton Lighthouse Project.
Working in with the Incident Control Centre (ICC), VicSES and the Victorian Fisheries Authority ensured deliveries to households cut off by floodwaters were made safely.
GV Cares flood relief project was made possible due to collaboration with Greater Shepparton City Council, Shepparton Foodshare, the Greater Shepparton Foundation, Committee for Greater Shepparton, Giz A Break, Point of Difference (POD) Studios, Ethnic Council – Shepparton, Mooroopna Education and Activity Centre (MEAC) and Shepparton Family and Financial Services. GV Cares acknowledges all these organisations for their work in supporting the community during this crisis.
GV Cares is an initiative of the Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project. GV Cares was established in August 2021 when an estimated one-third of Shepparton’s population was required to isolate for 14 days as a result of a local Covid 19 outbreak. With large numbers of the workforce in lockdown, local supermarkets were struggling to meet increased demand for online orders. Additionally, many residents were unable to call on family and friends for assistance as they too were in isolation.
Over the course of the 2021 lockdown, GV Cares delivered 2793 food hampers and made 1936 special deliveries of items such as medication, nappies, baby formula and sanitary items. It is estimated that GV Cares supported between 8000-10,000 residents.
‘The Lighthouse team is proud to have the skills, resources and networks to be able to activate the GV Cares initiative and support the Greater Shepparton community during times of crisis. Importantly we acknowledge the support received from local organisations, businesses and community members which is what enables GV Cares to respond so quickly. said Amy.
Lighthouse is now planning for long-term flood relief, ‘Our work is not finished, now we turn our focus towards supporting community members impacted by the flood, to get them back on their feet’, said Amy.