Australian Red Cross and Qantas donations on hold for Tara bushfire victims

Donations that were expected to be distributed over Christmas for children impacted by the devastating Tara bushfires have been delayed, with volunteers stuck assisting Queenslanders in recent flooding.

Australian Red Cross and Qantas will deliver Christmas donations to the children impacted by Tara bushfires earlier this year. Picture: photo by James D Morgan/Getty images

Earlier this month Australian Red Cross revealed they, along with Qantas, would be donating Christmas gifts to children impacted by the devastating bushfires across the Western Downs so they wouldn’t be left empty handed during the holidays.

However, the planned arrival of the donations has been delayed as another environmental disaster unfolded in the state’s north.

In October, 56 homes were lost in the Tara and Wieambilla areas due to horrifying infernos that swept the region and forced many families into evacuation centres. 

With many people still grappling from the destruction Australian Red Cross announced it and Qantas staff had gathered a haul of presents which included hand-knitted Trauma Teddies to be delivered to children in Tara.

Australian Red Cross chief funding officer Jason Laufer said volunteers had delivered more than 300 hours of support to date and were looking forward to delivering the presents.

TARA, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos - OCTOBER 31, 2023. A property destroyed by a bushfire near Tara, Queensland, Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

“As we continue to assess community needs and create long-term recovery plans it’s incredibly important that traditional community festivities like Christmas continue to be celebrated,” he said.

“With this in mind we hope that these gifts donated by Qantas will help bring an element of joy to local families who have been doing it tough.”

Since the initial announcement, a spokesperson from Australian Red Cross said members of the Tara community will have to wait until school commences for donations to be delivered due to volunteers still assisting in flood damaged north Queensland.

The gifts will be given as ‘back to school’ presents to welcome in 2024.

“Australian Red Cross is working with Tara State College to hand out gifts at a school event in the new year. We will also be in touch with other local schools in Tara to ensure no children miss out,” the statement read.

“Australian Red Cross staff and volunteers were deployed to support flood-impacted communities and operate evacuation and/or recovery centres in northern Queensland. While we would have loved to provide the gifts to children ahead of Christmas, we believe working with the local schools to distribute gifts is the best way.”

An aerial view of the bushfire sweeping Tara, October 2023. Picture: QFES

QantasLink chief operations officer Nick Collie said at the time of the original donations announcement that the Qantas team was proud to be involved in the project.

“Our team was keen to throw its support behind Australian Red Cross this festive period by donating hundreds of gifts,” he said.

“Qantas matched staff donations which we hope will bring some smiles to families who have been through difficult times in recent months.”

Residents have been advised to keep an eye out for more information regarding the donations once school commences.

Originally published as Australian Red Cross and Qantas donations on hold for Tara bushfire victims