Altona Life Saving Club has come to the rescue of children in the Nippers program affected by the Wye River bushfires.
Altona is the sister club of Wye River Surf Life Saving Club, which had to cancel this year’s Nippers program for about 150 children because of the devastating Great Ocean Road fires which destroyed 116 houses.
Wye River club representative, Altona resident Adam Bordignon, said a lot of the children enrolled in the program came from holiday homes in the town, a third of which were lost. Clubs at Apollo Bay, Lorne, Fairhaven and Altona have offered to let Wye River’s Nippers participate in their programs at no extra cost.
Altona’s president, Steve Schofield, said his club’s Nippers program started on Sunday, with more than 200 local children enrolled.
“We have had some feedback from some of [Wye River’s] Nippers and we hope to see as many as we can,” he said. “We were down there for a training weekend in October and they were really welcoming; they let us use their clubhouse, their equipment, their bunk house.
“To help out the Wye River community, and the club in general, is something we’re honoured to do. We want to see them back as soon as possible.”
