PHOTO: Coonamble Pre school staff and children with the grain donations truck.
Local cropping dads are lining up to lead the push to support Coonamble’s community-owned preschool this harvest.
So far fifteen local farming families have declared they will donate wheat to the Coonamble Pre school Grain Drive, which is tagged to contribute to a new multi-million dollar building to meet growing demand.
With the harvest off to a shaky start, the Preschool say there’s plenty of time and a couple of ways to make a contribution.
“Local farmers on each road have offered their support to the Grain Drive by volunteering to assist me to oversee and organise the collection of grain on their road,” says Vice President Jessica Lovel.
“We are extremely grateful to each dad who has generously taken on this role.
“Harvest in all of its intensity is enough to fill one’s plate and these farmers are willing to support our cause.”
Preschool Director Heidi Hodgson says community contribution is vital to demonstrating the local commitment to building a new facility that will meet modern standards and allow more children, including those who need disability-accessible toilets, to attend in the two years before starting school.
There’s currently a $2.5 million shortfall in what is needed to replace the second-hand shearers quarters that were donated in the early 1970s.
She says every little bit will help.
“We’ve out grown our facility, we need a new one and we are community based organization,” Ms Hodgson said.
The nine fathers of the latest generation to pass through the Coonamble Preschool who have put up their hands to make it easier to contribute are:
- Pilliga/Billeroy: Tom Cullen & Matt Prentice
- Carinda: Henry Moxham
- Dubbo/Warren Rd: Blake Hodgson
- Tooraweenah Rd: Ricky Looten
- Warren Rd: Jed Cain
- Walgett: Will Kennedy
- Mowlma Rd: Harry Altus
- Quambone Rd: Angus Dixon • Baradine Rd: Will Moss
Other farmers are encouraged to contact any of the listed men on their road or in their phone contacts to pledge their grain.
Farmers can request a pick up from their property by volunteer truck driver Paul Underwood.
The Preschool will also be accepting a transfer of donations from farmers who would prefer to use the National Growers Register.
Donors can email cblepreschool@bigpond.com for more information.