By EMMA SUN
DANDENONG Ranges firefighters have collected more coins than ever before, breaking their previous fund-raising record for the Good Friday Appeal.
The group, which included firefighters from Upwey, Selby, Belgrave, Belgrave South, Clematis, Monbulk, Sassafras and Kallista, raised an outstanding $28,250.05, which is $450 more than their record in 2010.
It was a big surprise for organiser and Clematis Fire Brigade firefighter Simon King, who said he was thrilled when he heard the news.
After delivering the tins to Etihad Stadium for officials to count, he waited for almost three hours longer than the time he would normally spend for the result.
“I believe we didn’t get as many notes this year, but got a lot more coins, which took them forever to count – we normally get to Etihad Stadium at about 5.30pm and are out of there by 8pm, but this year I didn’t get to go until 10.30pm,” he said.
“I was quite shocked when they came to me with the result. It was excellent.”
He congratulated all the firefighters who were involved and thanked the community for their generous support.
“It’s very much something to be proud of, I’m very pleased with the work that everybody did in getting out there and putting the effort in to make it another successful year,” he said.
