$100,000 for Queensland Flood Appeal from Jewish Aid
Jewish Aid Australia CEO, Gary Samowitz, met with Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh yesterday handing over a $100,000 cheque for the QLD Flood appeal .
Anna Bligh and Gary Samowitz
The Queensland floods wreaked havoc in January 2011 with more than 130 people killed and many left homeless. Victims are still trying to recover and rebuild their lives.
Jewish Aid Australia responded quickly when news of the floods’ impact became known. An appeal was set up to support both the Queensland Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal, and 2 affected Aboriginal communities in Northern NSW where JAA currently works.
Gary said the response from the Jewish community was overwhelming with $140,000 raised in just 2 weeks. Anna Bligh expressed appreciation for the very generous support from the Australian Jewish community and said she was inspired by how many ethnic and religious groups mobilised their communities to raise money for the Queenslanders.
Jewish Aid was founded in 1994 when a group of community members came together to raise $40,000 for victims of the Rwandan genocide. Since then JAA has raised over $1 million for a range of humanitarian disasters, including $430,000 for the Victorian Bushfires.
Gary said he was “proud to represent the Jewish community in this powerful gesture of camaraderie and goodwill”.
The pair also discussed the relief efforts currently being undertaken.
