The Queensland Trucking Association (QTA) is calling for volunteers to help the Wounded Heroes organisation raise much-needed funds.
The national community organisation supports Australian servicemen and women and their families, and to ease the financial, emotional and personal hardships of contemporary military life.
This year Wounded Heroes is holding a Queensland wide Opshop furniture drive and QTA CEO Gary Mahon is asking members to roll up their sleeves and pitch in any way they can.
Mahon says Wounded Heroes needs to establish delivery depots/locations and transport solutions for donated items to be transported to the central delivery location at Wacol (Brisbane).
The drop-off locations are in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Ipswich, and Toowoomba.
Through the Grant broadcasting radio network, a promotional campaign will drive the community listeners to drop their donations to a set location in each of those cities.
“I am appealing to members to consider any support you could give to this cause and any transport companies or depot locations that could donate their services/time,” said Mahon.
“Every level of support will be thanked and acknowledged on-air during this campaign.”
Mahon said many ex-defence service people work in the road freight industry.
“But I am not sure how many members would be aware of both the crisis support provided by Wounded Heroes and the need for its services.
“This organisation is unique in my experience in that it is staffed exclusively by volunteers right through to the CEO.
“This is an incredibly worthy cause that highlights a huge gap in crucial support that our veterans require. It is a sad reflection on our current support systems that a voluntary organisation is necessary to help veterans and their families in this way.
“Queensland is now very much a Garrison state and we can help.”
Mahon added that the near future, QTA will be developing a training and employment strategy that will include assisting transitioning veterans (8,000 in 2020), focussing on the wounded and injured, and critically their spouses.
“With the key support of Lieutenant General Greg Bilton [Wounded Heroes patron], we may be able to deliver an outcome without the fanfare and provide ‘hope and purpose’ to these transitioning members of the ADF, in Queensland and Nationally, that are ignored, forgotten or considered too hard to engage and employ.
“Without purpose, there is no hope. There are real opportunities in our industry for these people.”
If you are able to support this campaign, you can register your interest by emailing admin@qta.com.au.