Help Cate and Hewey "Bungy" Clean up

Jenny Lalor, Cath Rutten, Christine Carley, Donna Andrews and Paige Livingston need your help:

Cate McQuillen and Hewey Eustace left Melbourne over 20 years ago to make a home for themselves in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia, currently experiencing unprecedented forms and rainfall. Cate and Hewey have been huge supporters of their local and the broader community, pitching in whenever and wherever anyone needed a hand. And they have dedicated their lives to growing a climate-safe future for children and their future families, including creating dirtgirlworld, story, content and impact campaigns designed to help make the world a better place.

Cate and Hewey are big givers. Maybe the biggest givers we know. They have donated to many of your causes – support in disasters, kids trips, school fundraisers; they always give when asked. But other than financial help, they have opened their hearts, homes and lives to many of you reading this – providing mentorship, creating work and opportunities, offering their home to people for holidays, and as a safe space to live for anyone in need. Above all else, they’ve been there, showering us all with their love and compassion: with a shoulder to cry on, to share in your joys, to help deal with your grief and disappointments, and to offer a cup of tea, metaphorical or otherwise, when it was most needed.

In the last few years, they have coped with drought, the bushfires, the pandemic, the loss of livelihood, and now this storm. This storm has catastrophically affected them: decimating “the Bungy”, their property on the Bungawalbin River, where Hewey has been hard at work over the last few years with a view to them moving in at the end of this year.

Cate and Hewey value people so much more than ‘stuff’. They will consider themselves luckier than most and wouldn’t ask for our help. But we all know that this ‘stuff’ is part of their livelihood, now and going forward, and we want them to have a beautiful, secure future where they and dirtgirlworld can thrive again.

As you can imagine Cate and Hewey were as prepared as anyone possibly could be for this, but there are some things you simply can’t imagine or prepare for. This storm was like no other.

They have lost so much. At this stage, the total damage is still to be confirmed. Still, we are sure it is going to be devastating and catastrophic: the home; the shed with the batteries; the boat; Cate’s little sweetiepie caravan; the caravan where their friend Ross has lived for the last few years; as well as much of dirtgirlworld’s sets, and props – including the Costavator and the set of the dirtgirlworld musical.

So, now we have the opportunity to show them how much we love and appreciate them; not just the wonderful business they have created, but Cate and Hewey, our beautiful friends. It’s our turn to help them.

So, take a minute …

Take a minute to think about these beautiful people, and what they have given to all of us without question or the expectation of anything in return.

We’re asking you all to give generously so that we can help them rebuild and replant and recover.

At this time, they need more than our love.