The community came together Saturday to help out those dealing with the wildfires that have been raging for months in Australia.
Lauren McEachern, owner of the Fifty Acre Garden in Oro-Medonte, and Melanie Robinson, owner of Eclectic Café in Orillia, hosted a fundraiser at Robinson’s downtown Orillia restaurant. Through live and silent auctions as well as donations, more than $4,000 was raised for the Red Cross’s fire-relief efforts in Australia.
“It was pretty emotional for me. To see other people stepping up and showing their hearts is really touching,” said McEachern.
Her family had to evacuate Fort McMurray, Alta., when wildfires devastated that community in 2016.
During Saturday’s fundraiser, McEachern spoke with a couple of people who have family in Australia. Most of the visitors, though, “just connect with it on a human level,” she said.
“It just shows how supportive our community is — and for strangers,” added Robinson. “Everybody’s trying to make a difference.”
Local businesses donated items to the silent auction. While Robinson provided most of the food, Tops in Pizza pitched in with pizza buns and Sweet Time Bake Shoppe donated cookies, which were sold for $1 each, with all proceeds going to the cause.
During its regular business hours Saturday, Eclectic Café was accepting donations, selling the fundraising cookies and taking bids on silent auction items. It reopened in the evening for a bigger silent auction, a live auction and live music from Wesley McCarthy.
