When Police-Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) Gold Coast Branch Administrator Laura Keogh witnessed a man and his dog living on the streets in Palm Beach, she immediately knew she wanted to do something to help.
After meeting Darren and his dog ‘King’, Laura attended a local supermarket and purchased some food, water and dog food. When delivering the items Laura noticed the duo only had one blanket which was being used as a bed for King.
King
Unable to supply pillows or blankets straight away, Laura put the call out to the local community to lend a hand to help keep these best friends warm. Even though this request was made late in the evening, the amount of people that took Darren blankets, food and dog food that same night was incredible.
After hearing more of Darren’s story of how he became homeless after crashing his van, Laura and the community decided to put together a GoFundMe account to raise money towards a new van. Their initial target of $750 was quickly achieved and within 12 hours the funds were up to $1,700.
Since then the attention and support for Darren and King has continued to grow. Laura has been speaking with business owners, other organisations and general members of the public who are all wanting to help.
After Darren’s story appeared on local news channels, the donations flowed in and within another couple of days the fund reached $4,750.
Laura said the amount of support is overwhelming.
“I’ve had nearly 40 people contact me directly, some to say thank you and others are now offering more donations,” Laura said.
“We are purchasing a van for Darren and have enough money to supply him with registration, insurance, fuel and food vouchers.
“Volunteer mechanics have also offered their help ensuring the vehicle is safe, and other husbands, partners and members of the community are willing to help turn the van into a home for Darren and King.”
A generous member of the public, who wishes to remain anonymous, has since set Darren up in a tent in her yard with a bed and is looking after him and King.
Darren has since said he has received more love in the past few days than he has in his whole life.
Due to such an overwhelming show of support, Laura will be looking at organising another GoFundMe account to raise money for the wider community to donate towards homeless shelters etc. If you are interest in helping please contact PCYC Gold Coast on 07 5538 5201.