Point Cook Fire Brigade Third Lieutenant Brett Pender is helping to compile a fundraising poetry book. 84025 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By ALESHA CAPONE
POINT Cook Fire Brigade members are working hard to spread the word about their latest fundraising venture.
The station’s staff and volunteers, who are part of the CFA, are calling on poets from across the West to contribute to a poetry book called ‘A Hot Country’.
The 80-page volume, with the theme of ‘the seasons in Australia’, will be sold to raise funds for the brigade.
The CFA is also seeking grants and donations from businesses so they can publish the book.
The Point Cook Community Bendigo Bank has already come on board as the first sponsor.
The book is the brainchild of Wyndham Vale resident Ray McAlary, who is acting as editor.
He is being helped out by the Point Cook CFA’s Third Lieutenant Brett Pender, who has been volunteering at the brigade for more than two years.
Mr Pender said ‘A Hot Country’ was a pilot project for Point Cook but they hoped the idea would take off and soon be replicated as a fundraising idea by other CFA brigades across Australia.
“There’s quite a lot of interest there, we just need funds to publish the book,” Mr Pender said.
The father-of-two said he was inspired to join the CFA after witnessing the aftermath of the Black Saturday bushfires.
“What I enjoy most is probably the sense of community involvement and participation I suppose, it’s also a great vehicle for meeting people and developing new skills,” he said.
Poets wanting to contribute to the book can do so before 31 July on macpoets@hotmail.com
