Long-term “partners in crime” Valerie Brodin and Sui Watts were brought together by a passion for horses.
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Many years later, that same shared interest has inspired them to transform drought relief into a formal affair.
The duo, with the help of Big W Taree, are collecting formal dresses, suits and formal shirts to donate to students in rural areas who are struggling with the drought.
“Sui has seven horses and I have three, and we depend on the farmers out there to produce feed for our animals,” Valerie explained of the motivation behind the cause.
“If we think it’s bad here and we have nothing to feed our horses, what’s it like over there?”
Following the lead of a similar drive being conducted in Queensland, Valerie and Sui were excited to give back in their own way.
“We just thought it was a really good idea,” Valerie said. “I started off with my daughters, they were happy to get involved and donate their dresses. They are 27 and 30, so I’ve had two year 10 and two year 12 formal dresses just sitting in my cupboard for years.”
Valerie is hoping there are many other parents out there in the Manning community whose cupboards are being weighed down by the long forgotten formal wear of their children, and is offering the opportunity to help them see it go to a good cause and put a smile on another young face.
“Big W has agreed to be a drop off point for this drive,” Valerie explained. “People can drop off their dresses and suits and they will go to students out in rural areas whose families might not have the time or money to think about it.”
The distribution of dresses is being organised by the Department of Education, which will provide Valerie with a list of schools that would benefit from the donations.
“From there, the schools will tell us what they need and we will send all the donations out.”
Anyone who is interested in donating items to the appeal is asked to bring good quality, clean items, preferably in a simple plastic garment bag to Big W at any time before the end of September, when Valerie and Sui will send the items out.
“We really want to thank Big W for their help with this,” Valerie added.
“Sui, who is able to volunteer at Big W through NDIS funding, just loves working here, so we do four hours on a Friday morning and four hours on a Tuesday morning at Woolworths.”
People can donate formal dresses, dress shirts, suits and nice accessories.
