In recent months, Douglas Shire residents have really shown their willingness to lend a hand to a mate in a need, holding countless fundraising efforts throughout the region for the bushfire crisis hitting south-eastern Australia.

This weekend is no different with community groups, sports clubs, business, and locals all rallying for the Mates helping Mates Australia Day Bushfire appeal followed by the Animals Rescue & Australian Fires Fundraiser.

Mates helping Mates event organiser, Jill Todd, said everyone should come on down to the Port Douglas Sporting Complex on Sunday from 12pm to 4pm and spend their Australia Day helping those doing it tough.

“It will just be a good family fun day out,” she said.

The day will feature:

• A 20/20 cricket tournament hosted by the Muddies Cricket Club, sponsored by Port Douglas Concrete
• A Lamington eating contest sponsored by Grant Street Kitchen
• A thong tossing competition (thongs of both varieties) sponsored by Paradise Pilates at Plantation
• A Three-legged race sponsored by the Central Hotel and Courthouse Hotel
• A wheelbarrow race sponsored by LJ Hooker Port Douglas
• An egg and spoon race for the kiddies sponsored by Sportspower Port Douglas
• A sausage sizzle sponsored by Mossman Butcher

“Come on down on Sunday, there will be sign-up forms for people who want to get involved in the events and it is just a gold coin donation to join in,” said Ms Todd.

There will also be a raffle, a silent auction and a community garage sale from goods donated by generous locals and businesses.

All proceeds raised on the day will go to the Bendigo Bank National Bushfire Appeal.

“One-hundred per cent of the proceeds will be distributed to the bushfire. There will be nothing taken in administration fees and there will be no money that doesn’t go where it has to go,” she said.

Ms Todd and a group of friends have been collecting goods for donation for the last few weeks and she said the response has been overwhelming.

“We have been inundated with things people have dropped off to sell,” she said.

With so many donations Ms Todd said they have already sent off a truckload to bushfire affected areas and were lucky enough to have Toll offer the courier service for free.

“Port Douglas Storage has donated the use of a storage shed for the duration of the event, so we have been going down and sorting the donations and boxing them up.

“Our first truck left on Monday off to Mallacoota, which was really exciting, it was full of clothing, toys, sheets, linen, pet food, and a dozen kids bikes all donated locally.

“It is going to take a lot for these people to recover and this is a small thing that we can do up here.

“We are so far away from it and we live in paradise and don’t have any of this happening to us so as a community we just wanted to do something for them and show them they are not alone,” Ms Todd said.