$1m committed to natural disaster recovery in Queensland

Managing Director and Group CEO David Carter said the Club had re-prioritised its community investments to focus on food and clothing.

“The RACQ Foundation will launch a special recovery grant round worth up to $500,000 for community organisations affected by Tropical Cyclone Alfred and the North Queensland floods,” he said.

Funding includes:

• $200,000 recently announced to charities Thread Together and FareShare in the wake of the recent North Queensland floods
• An additional $100,000 to FareShare to provide 28,000 ready-made meals and $60,000 to Thread Together to immediately stand up more distribution sites providing up to 100,000 items of new clothing across regions most impacted in the south east, with more to follow
• $30,000 to the Brisbane Sustainability Agency for three pop-up stations in the disaster zone to immediately provide the essentials such as water, food and clean-up equipment to those displaced or most impacted
• A further $110,000 will be allocated to community-based organisations in areas most impacted
• A special RACQ Foundation grant round of $500,000 for not-for-profit organisations to apply for funding that would help them get back on their feet

“Partnering with these great organisations ensures communities will receive the support they need right now,” Mr Carter said.

“This year, RACQ marks 120 years of serving Queenslanders. As a member-based organisation with a purpose to drive a positive future for all Queenslanders, our people proudly rally behind our State during its darkest times and these disasters are no different.

“Whether it’s processing insurance claims, performing make-safes, supporting traffic response, attending to breakdowns, activating our hardship assistance, or reinvesting our profits back into communities, which is at the heart of what we do as a profit-for-purpose organisation – RACQ is here and facing up to the challenge alongside Queenslanders.”

As at 8.30am, Wednesday 12 March, RACQ had so far received 7,447 insurance claims, including 7,063 for home and 384 for motor as a result of the weather event across South East Queensland, northern New South Wales and the Wide Bay.

Mr Carter said further community support may follow once the full impacts of the cyclone and floods become clearer, but the first priority was attending to the more immediate needs of Queenslanders.

“We have a network of great community partners who shine in these moments, and we will continue to explore ways on how can help Queenslanders recover,” he said.

More details of RACQ Foundation’s special recovery grant round will be announced later this month.

Table 1. As at 8.30am, Wednesday 12 March, RACQ had received 7,447 insurance claims.

About FareShare

FareShare is a charity which has been cooking free, nutritious meals for people doing it tough since 2001. Each year FareShare transforms rescued, donated and our homegrown food into millions of delicious, healthy meals that feed dignity and wellbeing for Australians experiencing hardship. A homestyle meal shows that somebody cares and has an immediate impact.

Our healthy meals are given away free to frontline charities such as soup vans, homeless shelters, women’s refuges, First Nations organisations and groups providing disaster relief.

About Thread Together

Thread Together is a world first organisation and is increasingly recognised as the most ethical solution to managing the issue of surplus end of line stock. The service solves two problems – protecting the planet by saving clothing from landfill and helping vulnerable people, restoring dignity and choice by giving them access to new clothing.

About Brisbane Sustainability Agency

Brisbane Sustainability Agency BSA (formerly CitySmart) is a wholly owned subsidiary company of Brisbane City Council (not for profit proprietary company limited by shares), dedicated to delivering Council’s sustainability and resilience goals.

BSA has delivered notable projects and programs including the Flood Resilient Homes Program Pilot and Resilient Clubs Support program for Council clubs. They are supported by research and continuous learning to improve mitigation, strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate related hazards and natural disasters throughout the community.