Last Thursday 23 July marked the official end to The Red Shield Appeal (RSA) in Temora with the area captains and counting room volunteers getting together at Diamonds and Dust Café for afternoon tea. The final figure for the Temora Zone Red Shield Appeal (RSA) is in, and it is once again well ahead of expectation at $24,686. Just shy of last year’s total of $25,000 which made Temora the most generous community, per capita in Australia, organisers are confident that Temora will once again be one of the most generous communities in the country. All money raised locally stays local and goes towards projects organized by the Salvation Army in the Temora district such as school breakfasts, community lunches and a kids in the kitchen program designed to give children the skills and experirnce to budget for and prepare meals. Auxiliary Lieutenant Caleb Smith from the Temora Salvation Army said that people were moved to give whatever they could, ranging from a 20-cent coin to hundreds of dollars. “Every single bit, no matter how tiny, goes a really long way to getting the results that we get,” Aux Lt Smith said. He has seen first-hand what a difficult year it has been, financially for the people in the community and has been moved at how generous people are to help others. Chairman of the Temora Zone mayor Rick Firman said that it just blows us away, and we're just so grateful to the generosity of the Temora Community. “But if we didn't have the team that played their role, it just wouldn't happen, this will allow Caleb and his team to do all the great programs and initiatives across the Temora Zone communities that they do so, so well,” Cr Firman said. “Times are genuinely tough, but everyone seems to have been able to find something to donate. “We also want to thank Debbie Davidge and her team at Diamonds and Dust for providing an unexpected surprise and providing our afternoon tea for free.”
