03/02/2012

The RACQ Foundation has committed over $800,000 in donations to help community organisations impacted by Cyclone Yasi and is currently considering another round of applications for assistance.

As memories of the devastating cyclone are re-awoken on the one year anniversary, RACQ Chief Operations Officer Glenn Toms is encouraging those still struggling to recover from the damage inflicted by Cyclone Yasi to submit a funding application to the RACQ Foundation.

“Families and community organisations were hit hard by the cyclone and many are still going through the painful process of recovering and repairing damaged properties and businesses a year down the track,” Mr Toms said.

“We encourage community groups who have not already sought our assistance to submit an application to the RACQ Foundation before May 4, the deadline for the current round of funding.

“When the cyclone struck a year ago, RACQ wasted no time in sending a convoy that battled highway closures, heavy rain and fallen trees to reach people in disaster areas where we distributed disaster kits and bottles of water to help bring some relief to the victims.

“The RACQ Foundation has followed up on that assistance through more than $800,000 in donations and would like to continue to provide support to communities in need.”

Mr Toms said that since Cyclone Yasi and last year’s floods, the RACQ Foundation had allocated more than $5 million to over 92 grassroots community and sporting organisations across Queensland to help them get back up and running again – both physically and financially.

Organisations impacted by Cyclone Yasi could apply for funding up to $200,000 per project to repair, replace or rebuild damaged properties, buildings, equipment and assets.

“The funding can help disaster-affected communities overcome challenging hurdles to get back into the position they were in before the natural disasters struck,” he said.

For more information, visit www.racq.com/foundation.