Hundreds of tradies teamed up on the tools last Friday to tackle dozens of jobs completely free of charge for beloved members of their community.
The Free Trade Day movement has been catching on like wildfire in recent years as tradies from all along the NSW coastline come together once a year to take on speciality-building work nominated by their community members.
And 2024 turned out to be their biggest year yet, with more than 200 tradies jumping on board to bang out much-needed home repairs and renovations for some of the most vulnerable Aussies in the area, including the elderly, single parents, people living with disabilities and families dealing with terminal illness.
Lucky recipients also included single mother of three Verity Worster, who couldn’t afford costly repairs after being diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer and the Wyong Family Care Cottage, which underwent much-needed renovations to better support families of sick children.
“I’m very very grateful to all the tradies here today and helping everyone on the coast it’s just an amazing thing that that they’re doing,” Ms Worster told Channel Seven’s Sunrise over the weekend.
And the man who started it all, Central Coast electrician and Lions Club member Ryan Wilson, said that he was thrilled to see what started as a simple act of kindness grow into what it is today.
“In 2017 I took a job for an elderly man who had been without water for six months,” he said.
“After fixing the problem, I discovered that he had been suffering in silence for far too long because he was unable to afford basic repairs.
“Sadly, he passed away shortly after the job was completed, but I couldn’t shake the thought of how many more people like him were out there, and that’s where the idea for Free Trade Day was born.
“The day is just so powerful.
“Not only are the recipients crying happy tears, but the tradies are also often overcome with emotion realising that they have used their skills to change someone’s life.”
With word of their good deeds spreading across Australia’s news networks and the movement’s #businessofkindess trending on social media, big names like Kubota Australia have even gotten behind Lions Club Australia to provide much-needed equipment and funds for the hundreds of projects to come.
“We are excited to partner with Lions Club Australia and support such a meaningful cause,” said Kubota Australia Marketing Manager Mark Basile.
“Free Trade Day is all about giving back, and we’re proud to provide equipment and resources that will help make a real difference for families on the Central Coast.”
Ryan hopes that with the help of this year’s sponsors and the growing traction amongst tradies, Free Trades Day will soon grow into nationwide community movement.
“It’s truly a humbling and emotional experience for everyone involved and we’re overwhelmed to have the amount of high-quality kind tradies, and partners helping this year,” he said.
“With their help, and with the support of Lions Club Australia, we’re hoping to bring Free Trade Day to every corner of Australia.”
