The plight of our farmers in the face of the continuing Australian drought has been well documented across the media, with many of us feeling for the rural families who are doing it tough. Kennards Hire, a family-owned and operated business, understand the importance of community and have been lending their support to devastated communities during these punishing times.

 Run by Rural Aid, the ‘Buy a Bale’ initiative, which provides meaningful support to farming families by delivering hay, water and other essential items, attracted support from employees across the Kennards Hire branch network, sparking the business to match donations dollar-for-dollar.

 Over $12,500 was raised for the ‘Buy a Bale’ cause by Kennards Hire team members during August, and the equipment hire company matched this figure, bringing the total donation to $25,000.

 Then they heard about the Mega Farm Rescue.

 From 14 to 20 October, the Mega Farm Rescue descends to the town of Forbes in New South Wales to bring not only help and equipment to the farming families, but to inject some much-needed funds into the rural township and to lift the spirits of the drought-affected community.

 The 180+ volunteers, helpers and supporters will be accommodated locally and catered for at the showgrounds, bringing many helping hands to the town where much equipment is required. This is where the Kennards Hire team comes in.

 Kennards Hire’s Zone Manager for Central Western NSW, Craig McMahon, is coordinating the in-kind supply of Tipper, Pantek trucks and utes for deliveries, cherry pickers, bobcats, post hole diggers, flood-lights, along with countless ladders, trestles, nail guns, saws, welders and safety gear to put the right tools into all the helping hands.

 "One of our core values is One Family. While we may not be related to each other, we stick together and look after our team like family. This belief quite often spreads out into our local communities,” said Craig McMahon, who heads the Kennards Hire Mega Farm Rescue support outreach.

 “It’s in the tough times that we need to stick together, and when so many volunteers are coming to help out it is a task in itself to ensure there is enough equipment to get the job done. We’ve got what it takes to make this happen.”

 “Our teams, and their families, live and work in the communities where we have branches, and many of those are in regional and rural Australia. Apart from pitching in with equipment and help on the ground, we also just want to raise awareness of the devastating long-term effects of drought and encourage even more people to get behind this initiative,” McMahon said.

 Those wishing to support Rural Aid or the Forbes Mega Farm Rescue can do it directly by making a donation at buyabale.com.au/donate, or registering to volunteer at farmrescue.com.au/forbes.

 For more information or to find your nearest branch visit kennards.com.au