The Iconic mega-facility opens doors for bushfire donation storage

Donors wanting to chip in for bushfire relief are often encouraged to give cash rather than physical goods, thus avoiding the potential for charities to be overwhelmed with blankets, clothes and assorted paraphernalia.

But online retailer The Iconic may have a solution to this logistical problem thanks to its upgraded fulfilment centre in South West Sydney, which last month added an additional 20km of shelving to its capacity.

"From today, The Iconic's Sydney CBD Headquarters and Western Sydney Fulfilment Centre will become designated Bushfire Relief donation drop-off hubs, with the retailer accepting specific new non-perishable and wildlife care items to be donated to impacted communities," the company said in a release this morning.

"The Iconic understands that charities have recently been inundated with donations and are at capacity to manage storage and distribution of these goods.

"However, with no immediate end to Australia's bushfire crisis in sight and the need for these items continuing to rise, The Iconic is committed to providing long-term support for recovery efforts by storing these donations for charities at their 28,000sqm Western Sydney Fulfilment Centre and Sydney CBD HQ."

The initiative adds to the e-retailer's support for charity partner Thread Together, which has has been working tirelessly to clothe bushfire victims.

The company is accepting items from this list at its drop-off hubs that will act as medium- to long-term safe storage for donated items, to be distributed to charities when needed in conjunction with the group's logistics partners.

"The Iconic is, and will, work closely with charities to help manage their requirements as they evolve, to ensure ongoing support is provided to those affected by bushfires."

The group will be conducting drop-offs at its Sydney HQ reception on Level 18, 338 Pitt Street, Sydney, as well as at the fulfilment centre reception at 205-231 Fairfield Rd, Yennora, every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from today until the end of January between 8am - 4pm AEDT.

Bushfire relief update

Pledges to support bushfire relief keep comiing from across Australia's corporate landscape, including recent wildlife-specific commitments, and the ASX yesterday announcing an immediate $500,000 donation will be made to the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.

"Rebuilding devastated communities, businesses, wildlife and infrastructure will require a sustained long-term commitment," said ASX managing director and CEO Dominic Stevens.

"I'm enormously proud of the generosity of everyday Australians and moved by the way businesses have stepped up to offer help however they can.

"With extreme fire conditions continuing to threaten communities and the fire season far from over, the immediate need to assist the bush fire response and affected communities continues alongisde rebuild and recovery planning."

Last week, telecommunications infrastructure and cloud computing mogul Bevan Slattery sold more than $500,000 worth of his shares in Superloop (ASX: SLC) to be donated to various charities for bushfire relief efforts. 

Elsewhere, 27 real estate groups and institutes have united under the banner 'Beyond the Bricks' to raise funds for bushfire relief, with the total raised reaching $900,000 thus far. 

The groups involved in Beyond the Bricks include: Barry Plant, Belle, Buxton, Coronis, Elders, First National, Harcourts, Hockingstuart, Hodges, Laing+Simmons, LJ Hooker, Marshall White, McGrath, PIPA, PRD, Professionals, Ray White, Raine & Horne, Remax, Richardson & Wrench, REINSW, REIV, REIA, REISA, REIQ, and REIWA and Stone.

Ray White head of marketing Lisa Pennell says the industry initiative is not just about fundraising, but will comprise three phases: Relief, Rebuild, Restore.

"We've all been feeling quite helpless as we watch our country burn, and the horrific images that have been all over the media. From our perspective as a group, over a dozen of our offices were in the affected zones over the weekend before last," she says. 

"The industry has collaborated before, and what we do on our own is not going to be anywhere near as powerful as if we get everyone together.

"The third phase is around restoration of those economies and what we can do to support that;  tourism is going to be a real problem in those areas. Economies will be smashed because when a disaster like this occurs people do tend to cancel their bookings."

Yesterday, the Coca-Cola Foundation, Coca-Cola Australia and Coca-Cola Amatil (ASX: CCL) announced a further bushfire emergency relief package worth more than $1.6 million, with beneficiaries to include the Salvation Army, the NSW Rural Fire Service, the Country Fire Authority Victoria, and the South Australian Country Fire Service Foundation.

The amount includes up to $375,000 from employee matched giving to all registered charities, donated beverages and financial support for small business customers impacted in fire-affected zones.

Other initiatives have also sprouted up aiming to raise awareness of fire-impacted businesses and promoting trade with them.

These include the Instagram pages @spendwiththem profiling affected businesses and @morethanagooddrop which puts a spotlight on operations impacted in the food, wine and tourism sectors.

Has your business been affected by bushfires or have an interesting story to tell about supporting relief and recovery efforts? Be sure to let us know via email at [email protected].

Business News Australia