A truck driver is delivering free furniture to the families of Tumbarumba and Batlow, many of whom have lost everything to this year's bushfires.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ron Lee has already done four round trips, but is planning to deliver another two truckloads due to the sheer volume of furniture being donated by Wagga locals.
"The response in Wagga has been fantastic," Mr Lee said.
"The community's been good to me, and you need to keep that ball rolling; if people are good to you, then you be good to them."
All these free deliveries have put Mr Lee out of pocket, but he said it was worth it to see smiles returning to the faces of fire-stricken families.
One encounter stuck with him: a Wagga woman donated her old childhood rocking horse, which was picked up by a delighted Tumbarumba mother who gave it to her own child.
Another memorable moment was seeing a Tumbarumba woman's face light up when she received a box of coat hangers, saying she had not been able to hang her clothes in months.
"Some of them are nearly crying, because they've got nothing," Mr Lee said.
"Not even shoes, clothes, coat hangers - not even something as simple as that."
READ MORE:
The Wollundry Rotary Club donated fuel and furniture to help Mr Lee on his trips, and they also donated $15,000 to the Tumbarumba Rotary Club for their bushfire appeal.
The club had been planning to donate even more than that to bushfire affected families through their Riverina BMW Food & Wine Festival, but it was cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Tumbarumba Rotary president Tracy Wiggins said they will be distributing the money to families most in need of a leg up.
So far the club has received over $100,000 from clubs, businesses, and individual well-wishers from all around the Riverina.
They will be distributing the money to around forty families in the area, as well as buying supplies at Tumbarumba shops to help the local economy ticking over.
"I would really like to thank those generous people and organisations that have supported us in being able to give back to our community," Ms Wiggins said.
"I'm just so awestruck at the generosity of people."