Funds flood in

By Nicole Williams
AN ENDEAVOUR Hills single mother with a heart of gold raised more than $1200 for the Victorian and Queensland flood appeals.
Penny Batty sprung into action after the floods, collecting new and used clothes, toys and linen to donate to those affected.
But she couldn’t find an organisation to take the goods as most would only accept financial donations.
Instead, Ms Batty held a garage sale on Saturday so she could donate the proceeds.
“It was quite successful and we managed to raise $769.30,” she said.
Ms Batty sold half of the 25 packing boxes full of clothing, linen and toys and the remainder were donated to the nearby St Andrews Centre, who provides emergency crisis assistance.
Ms Batty said she wanted to help as soon as she saw the disaster play out on television.
“I am a stay-at-home mother of three who believes in doing anything possible to help those in need,” she said.
“Because we live so far away from where it happened, I got on to it really quickly so we could get it up there as soon as possible.”
She received donations of goods from friends and family and Hallam business Grace also donated packing boxes to help organise the collection.
Sage Automation, an interstate company with local operations and employees in flood affected areas of Queensland, also donated $500 to Ms Batty’s appeal.
The final tally, including the donation from Sage Automation, was $1269.30, which will be donated to the Queensland and Victorian flood relief appeals.