As Scouts Victoria began their annual fundraising efforts in the lead-up to Christmas, they were in need of a truck to deliver hundreds of Christmas trees throughout their community.
The Scouts and volunteers from the First Alphington and Second Clifton Scout groups have been hard at work, taking orders, collecting and delivering hundreds.
One of the head volunteers, Michael McLean, recently got his HR licence so he could better assist the Scout group.
When they needed a truck to deliver all of the Christmas tree orders, he reached out to Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) to see if they could help.
IAL answered the call with the loan of an FSR 140/120-260.
“In the spirit of Christmas, Isuzu Australia was more than happy to help with this community event,” said IAL head of marketing and customer experience John Walker. “The Scouts do wonderful work in our community and have done so for many years.”
With a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of 14,000kg and a GCM of 20,000kg, the FSR 120-260 was a perfect fit for the task at hand.
In terms of power, the FSR 120-260 features Isuzu’s six-cylinder, 24 value 6HK1-TCC engine sporting 191kW (260hp) at 2400rpm.
The truck was used to carry 240 full-sized trees away from the farm.
A group of Santa’s helpers, in the form of Scouts, parents and volunteers, all worked hard to make sure the truck was filled to the brim before being taken back to the 1st Alphington Scout Hall where the load was further separated into trailers and delivered to homes around the community.
As McLean explained, “We do most of the year’s fundraising all at once. We don’t get financial support from any government bodies so what we can raise is what’s available to us for the year.
“Our hall is 100 years old at this stage and, as you can well imagine, that requires a lot of maintenance. On top of that we need compasses, tents, pocketknives; everything that you’d need to make Scouting as worthwhile and enjoyable as possible for the kids.”
According to McLean, the truck has been a pleasure to drive. “Compared to the truck I used to get my heavy rigid licence, it was a dream. They’re like chalk and cheese,” he said.
With the Christmas day less than two weeks away, the Scouts will be doing another round of deliveries. Isuzu will once again drop off the truck to help bring joy to another 200 households.
“We’re so grateful to Isuzu for supporting the community like this,” said McLean. “It makes a world of difference to all of us here.”