Record Bollywood Concert for firefighters
It was great entertainment as bollywood music was reverberating through the walls of the Pennant Hills Community Centre.
The large sum of money raised at this concert shows how many locals are concerned or affected by the ongoing bushfires.
The India Club raised a total of $22,000 for the Rural Fire Service at the Indian Community Bushfire Appeal on Monday, which was well attended with over 200 patrons.
Feted among the guests were Hornsby Shire Mayor, Cr Phillip Ruddock, Hills Mayor, Cr Michelle Byrne and the Minister of Emergency Services David Elliott.
The event, which was a concert of “Bollywood Beats and Melodies,” was organised by core members and gifted singers of the India Club including, Neena Badhwar, Vinod Rajput, Puneet Grover and Ram Ramamurthy.
“An event like this only happens with combined effort. We are very grateful to all involved,” India Club president Shubha Kumar said. The India Club is a volunteer organisation made up of Australians and people of Indian origin, working to share their love and appreciation of Indian culture.
Strong support for the event came from primary schools and high schools, both staff and students. The concert entailed singing and dancing performances, as well as a ‘vibrant’ medley. “This was to bring a smile and cheer to the firefighters at the front bearing the brunt of continuing fires,” Mrs Kumar said. “It was very heartbreaking to see young volunteer firefighters risking their lives and dying in this horrendous fire to save other peoples’ properties, land and lives. We raised the money for the welfare fund of the fire fighters.”
The Hills District RFS operations officer Brendan Doyle thanked the audience and asked them to consider visiting the regional areas to “put money back into those communities”.
According to him, 100 firefighters recently fought the recent fire in Box Hill which burnt 25 hectares. People need to still be vigilant about fires in semi-urban areas.
He also said fundraisers were great morale boosters for the RFS. “A simple thank you is all they need,” he said.
The money will go to the Baulkham Hills RFS Volunteers fund.
