{"id":239982,"date":"2019-07-18T21:19:20","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T11:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=239982"},"modified":"2020-07-18T18:09:05","modified_gmt":"2020-07-18T08:09:05","slug":"warm-welcome-in-chilly-kingaroy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/07\/18\/warm-welcome-in-chilly-kingaroy\/","title":{"rendered":"Warm Welcome In Chilly Kingaroy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bondi Rescue lifeguards Whippet, Reidy\u00a0and Corey, with\u00a0Road Boss Rally organiser Jamie Lawson (in red) gave fellow rally drivers Liza Kalpus and Kylie Stewart a hug for luck before they all set off on the final leg to Caloundra on Thursday morning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

July 18, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 2019 Road Boss Rally – which included three members of TV show Bondi Rescue – enjoyed a welcome if chilly overnight stay at Kingaroy Showgrounds on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The annual rally, which raises funds for charity GIVIT, is a 10-day, 3500km drive along some of the most demanding roads in rural Australia.<\/p>\n

Entrants were flagged off from Cowra in NSW on July 9 before their first night’s stop at Mt Hope.<\/p>\n

Then they went on to White Cliffs, Packsaddle, Tibooburra, Noccundra, Thargomindah, Noorama and Nindigully before making their way to the South Burnett and then on to the finish line at Caloundra.<\/p>\n

The Kingaroy stopover was a rare opportunity for the 200 rally members – drivers, crew and supporters – to have a shower, a feed and a good night’s sleep courtesy of Kingaroy Showgrounds and a crew of volunteers who prepared dinner and breakfast.<\/p>\n

Afterwards, the 70-odd cars taking part in this year’s rally embarked on the final leg of their journey aiming to finish at the Caloundra RSL about lunch time on Thursday.<\/p>\n

GIVIT, which was founded in Samford 10 years ago by Juliette Wright, is an exchange system that allows Australian charities to request exactly what their clients need, and members of the public to donate those items if they longer need them. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The process is run through GIVIT’s website<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

During the past decade it has redistributed more than $1.35 million in donations to people in need.<\/p>\n

The Road Boss Rally, which is now GIVIT’s major annual fundraiser, was started by Jamie Lawson in 2016.<\/p>\n

Jamie’s father Allan founded the well-known Endeavour Rally, so he’s no stranger to the work required to organise one.<\/p>\n

He decided it was time to strike out on his own with a different rally and a different good cause.<\/p>\n

This year’s rally is the fourth Road Boss Rally and the first to have visited Kingaroy.<\/p>\n

“The Road Boss Rally is different to other charity car rallies, because we fearlessly take participants where most rally organisers wouldn’t dare go,” Jamie said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“With the permission of private property owners, we head off on some tough and challenging tracks.<\/p>\n

“We don’t cruise the highways on the Road Boss Rally, we take the hard roads.”<\/p>\n

This year, Bondi Rescue’s Corey, Reidy and Whippet swapped their rescue jet skis for a ute called the Bondi Beast to join in the fun, along with a film production team that will produce a documentary of the three men’s adventures on the rally.<\/p>\n

As part of their South Burnett visit, GIVIT and rally entrants delivered donations to local families affected by recent house fires.<\/p>\n

They dropped off a computer, washing machines, fridges, a microwave and a TV – all for free – along with other things.<\/p>\n

Juliette said being able to distribute help to local communities as the Rally passed through each town was another feature that made the Road Boss Rally unique.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“It’s not just the tens of thousands of dollars rally participants spend along the way in remote towns that are doing it tough but the fact that GIVIT has found out in advance exactly what’s needed in the communities we visit,” she said.<\/p>\n

“This year, with the amazingly generous support of Jamie and the Road Boss Rally crew, GIVIT has been able to provide more than 222,000 vital items for Queensland residents recovering after devastating floods, and support communities across NSW in the ongoing drought.”<\/p>\n

Juliette said GIVIT also plan to expand their operations soon by involving schools in their information network.<\/p>\n

“We’ve found schools really know who’s doing it tough in their community, and they’re a great source of information about what their communities really need.<\/p>\n

“So we’ll be expanding our website soon to launch a section for them as well.”<\/p>\n

South Burnett residents can donate to GIVIT here<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n