Generosity not bound by jail walls

IT MAY surprise some people to know there are some very generous people behind the walls of Grafton jail.

A group of inmates at the prison decided to try and help the victims of the Victorian bushfires. They spread the word and the other inmates responded generously.

Four delegates - Dave Brown, Will Hickey, Frank Curr and Dimitrious Topalis - represented the inmates when they handed over the $941 raised for the victims.

Will Hickey put it well saying: “It (Victoria) may be a world away, but we feel the effects of their trauma.”

“The boys here stepped straight up to the plate; let's just hope they (the victims) can re-build quickly,” he said.

Another inmate, Dave Brown, said he was inspired by “the heartbreak and the misery caused by the fires.”

“The inmates in the jail that don't work only get $13.50 a week and they still contributed - some even gave it all. We wish we could do more but we have limited resources,” Mr Brown said.

Prison administration assistant, Josephine Spriggs, co-ordinated the collection.

“The inmates saw the fires on TV and decided they wanted to do something to help,” Ms Spriggs said.

“It was just wonderful to see these inmates that have so little give so much.

“It was a tremendous effort which brought out the best in them.”

There to collect the donation on behalf of the bushfire victims were Eve Gleeson and Maureen McLennan from the Grafton branch of the Australian Red Cross.

“They've done wonderfully well; very generous,” Mrs McLennan said.