CFA VOLUNTEERS from Yarrambat and Plenty Fire Brigades plan to push their Good Friday Appeal collection total past the $100,000 mark in 2027.
The team of 28 volunteers almost made it this year, raising more than $11,000 for The Royal Children’s Hospital despite early rain that forced a late start. It took their total to more than $95,000 collected since 2014.
Plans for 2027 are already under way, with Yarrambat and Plenty firefighters hoping to collect at a new, bigger intersection at Yan Yean and Kurrak Roads.
Yarrambat Fire Brigade Captain Andrew Napoleone says the response from the public is always great.
“It’s a long weekend, people are often in a holiday mood, and they can set off knowing their donation will help sick kids,” he said.
“Like everything CFA does, the volunteers collecting for the Good Friday Appeal are working for the community and it’s the response from the community that makes it such a good outcome.”
The two brigades record each year’s collection on special plaques, made in memory of Plenty volunteer Greig Wanless, a regular with the team collecting on Good Friday who passed away in 2024.
Greig’s wife Karen and the Good Friday Appeal’s Claire O’Riordan presented the brigades with the updated plaques at Yarrambat Fire Station on Sunday.
Volunteers from more than 300 CFA brigades all over the state raised $2.15 million for The Royal Children’s Hospital this year.