Members of the Canungra State School’s rugby league program were given a lift for their Kingfisher Cup Carnival campaign at Beaudesert Junior Rugby League Club next week, with a surprise visit from Gold Coast Titans players Kevin Proctor and Shannon Boyd.
Canungra has been the operational hub of the bushfire relief efforts battling the devastating blazes that have affected the Gold Coast Hinterland as well as other areas around Queensland.
The Canungra State School students have been directly affected by the fires, with some unable to attend school or get home at the end of the day because of fires threatening their family homes.
Some students have had parents out on the front line as part of the Rural Fire Brigade and other volunteers fighting the fires to keep their community safe.
Proctor and Boyd were visiting Canungra with Titans staff to visit emergency service workers and to deliver donated food, water and clothing to help residents affected by the fire.
The Titans were able to pass on well-received donations for the community from the Club’s supporters, including meat and bread for the community barbeque from IGA Spanos, cartons of water from Coca-Cola Australia, and clothing and merchandise from LIVIN.
The two NRL players made a detour to Canungra State School to pass on their best wishes to the boys and girls of the school’s rugby league players, with the junior team and two senior sides playing in the Kingfisher Cup next week.
But it wasn’t just the school’s rugby league players that were happy to see the Titans – thanks to a kind donation from Little Miss Muffin, the school’s students and teachers were able to enjoy 250 muffins as a lunchtime treat.
Canungra State School Principal Kylie Todhunter said the Titans visit had been a welcome boost for a community that has done it tough under the threat of the bushfires for more than a week.
“It is really exciting to have the players here to meet the boys and girls from our rugby league team,” Principal Todhunter said. “It has been a tough week for the kids, the staff and the community here in Canungra.
“A number of our students were evacuated from their homes, but it is really pleasing for us as a community for us to come together and see that everybody’s homes have been saved by the hard work of the Rural Fire Brigade and the emergency services.
“Even some of the parents of the children here have been fighting the fires for eight days now. So it is really lovely that the Titans have come out just to wish them well for their carnival next week.
“I think these boys have got the biggest smiles on their faces they have had all year.”
Principal Todhunter said the Scenic Rim community had come together to help each other through a stressful period for the region.
“The community has come together with such strength over the last week,” she said. “It has been amazing – the donations and the support from the community.
“We have had students not being able to get out (to go to school), had students not being able to get home, and everybody has come together to make sure that we have got what we need.”
If you would like to assist the community by donating to the bushfire relief, please contact these organisations:
Monetary donations to assist wildlife – www.wilvos.org.au
Monetary donations to assist families – www.givit.org.au
