ODMA Eyetalk will donate $10,000 to the Bushfire Appeal and has invited the optical community to vote on which organisation(s) the money should be donated to.
In a statement on behalf of ODMA CEO Finola Carey said, “ODMA’s thoughts go out to the families, and communities that have lost so much in the devastating bushfires across the entire country, including NSW, Victoria, SA, and Queensland, that have caused 24 deaths and destroyed or damaged a staggering number of homes and properties – and it is not over yet.
We are giving our subscribers and supporters the chance to decide to whom we donate the funds, by voting at www.surveymonkey.com/r/bushappealodma
“We know that for those Australians who have lost everything, the task of rebuilding their lives will present many, many challenges. We are aware that some of our own optical community are affected.
“As members of the optical community, in this time of great tragedy we need to do all we can to assist those impacted by the bushfires who have lost so much. We also know many practices and wholesalers are already involved in assistance packages. There are now pleas for people to stop donating goods directly to overwhelmed fire-affected communities who simply do not have the resources to manage them as the donated goods are creating a second disaster.
“The Rural Fire Service advice is that the most useful thing people can donate is money.
As there is probably no individual left who has not contributed to the bush fire appeals we are not asking our community to donate but to help us decide where ODMA Eyetalk should donate $10,000 on behalf of our entire community.
“We are giving our subscribers and supporters the chance to decide to whom we donate the funds, by voting at www.surveymonkey.com/r/bushappealodma.
“We have chosen four national charities to choose from or you can select to share the funds over the four:
1. Red Cross Disaster & Relief Recovery
2. Salvation Army Bushfire Appeal
3. RSPCA Bushfire Appeal
4. WIRES
“The road to rebuild will be long and challenging and we thank you in advance for your support.”
