The Katandra West and District Men's Shed has raised $18 000 worth of hay to be donated to farmers affected by bushfires.
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Katandra West and District Men's Shed Member Howard Phillips, from Shepparton, said the Men's Shed took on the financial aspect of the project and used its bank account to collect donations.
“The initiative originally started at Congupna, a few of us thought we should do something for farmers, so we gave a few bales of hay, rang around and then we had a load,” Mr Phillips said.
“We started with one load of hay, got the Katandra West and District Men's Shed involved, and now we have about 44 bales.”
The UDV contacted the Men's Shed to deliver hay to bushfire-affected farms in Corryong.
Mr Phillips said he wanted to ensure the hay reached farmers in need.
“It's important that this district does something to help, especially because we used to be a big farming town for dairy,” he said.
Katandra West and District Men's Shed president Greg Crowe and secretary Max Keir were happy to get involved.
“We are now trying to involve as many Men's Sheds as we can, particularly city-based Men's Sheds,” Mr Keir said.
Mr Phillips said he had been spending $100 per bale and aimed to get good quality feed at that price.
“There's a few people I've contacted who have dropped their prices, it snowballed further than what we thought.”
The Katandra West group said there had been a generous response from the community, whether $10 or $100 had been donated.
The Men's Shed has been fundraising for a few weeks and will hold a barbecue at Bunnings in Yarrawonga on Sunday, January 26.
Details for donating to Katandra West and District Men's Shed: Account: 160956421, BSB: 633000.
For more information, contact the Katandra West and District Men's Shed by email at: kwmensshed@gmail.com or phone: 0411 126 860.