Making a difference

Care4Coast’s Kim Bintley about the charity’s nimble, can-do attitude in the face of disaster.

As a not-for-profit, registered charity we support the most vulnerable in our communities during natural disasters, crisis and hardship. We provide disaster relief, emergency assistance, crisis support and outreach services to the homeless and rough sleepers, as well as to individuals and families facing crisis.
Our founder and President Mrs Carly Pal and her family established Central Coast Disaster Relief at the start of the devastating bushfires of 2019.

Carly saw the desperate need of fire affected communities and directly liaised with them to ascertain their needs and provide immediate support.
As the fires continued across the East Coast of Australia, multiple convoys of supplies were sent to communities across NSW, up to the borders of Queensland and down to Victoria.

We also supported our volunteers of the RFS who so courageously risked their lives to protect people, livestock and property. When Carly learned that those dedicated heroes weren’t provided with fire resistant socks and saw the burns so many volunteers suffered, she launched Sock It To Me, a campaign that raised thousands of dollars to purchase fire resistant socks for every RFS volunteer across NSW.
Whilst the fires raged, severe flooding hit the Central Coast and we supported those communities with food, fresh water and emergency supplies.

In February 2020, we proudly saw our founder recognised for her efforts by Central Coast Council in their thank you campaign for those directly involved in the firefighting efforts.
Care4Coast was created in January 2020 in continuation of the support for rough sleepers Carly and her family had provided for the past decade. A weekly outreach service offers food, emergency assistance and crisis support for anyone in need across the Central Coast.

Carly knew during COVID our homeless community needed support more than ever and never wavered in her commitment to help; finding them in abandoned buildings or under bridges and providing much needed food, hygiene supplies and support.

Three years on, Care4Coast has grown and become an integral part of the support network for those in need and has been recognised in Parliament by Dr Gordon Reid MP. Our outreach service supports an average of 80–100 people of every demographic and age every Monday night. There’s hot meals, hairdressers volunteer their time to provide free haircuts, we have a book exchange to encourage literacy and a clothing trailer that holds brand new clothing, underwear, socks, blankets and sleeping bags. From our service van, we distribute food hampers, snack packs and breakfast packs as well as toiletries, and pet food.

In 2022, when devastating floods swept across the Northern Rivers, Care4Coast made 18 relief trips to flood affected communities providing clothing, food, toiletries, cleaning and medical supplies, and lots of hugs.

All of this is achieved through the incredible generosity of our community, of local businesses and like-minded organisations. Care4Coast is incredibly grateful for their support and for their amazing team of volunteers.

For more info visit facebook.com/Care4Coast

Find more community news in our Spring Edition of Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle Magazine or subscribe here.