Shopkeepers in drought-stricken towns will throw open their doors and have their cash registers ready when a special bus tour drops in next month.
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The We Care Road Trip is gearing up for another journey to bolster four regional economies and organiser Anne-Marie Best is hoping to kick off with a full house.
The tour will depart from Newcastle and drop into Murrurundi - which is running out of water, for morning tea and a shopping spree before making their mark on Narrabri during a lunch break.
The passengers will then travel to Moree where they will spend the night and meet farmers, the mayor and enjoy the town's after dark scene.
The next morning they will shop till they drop at the town's small businesses before hoping back onto the bus for the jopurney to Manilla where they will enjoy lunch.
The first bus trip, in September last year, went to Merriwa, Gulargambone and Coonabarabran and injected $17,000 into the towns.
Ms Best is hoping for a similar result on March 30 and 31.
I'll be asking everyone to bring a slab of water to give to Murrurundi, and we'll be there for about two hours so everyone will have a chance to buy some breakfast and then have a look through the shops,
- she said.
"This is all about bringing money into these communities."
Grace Coaches will again donate a bus and driver for the event. Ms Best praised the company for helping to make the bus trip possible.
Each participant will buy a $100 debit card to pay for their seat. The cards will be given to the Country Women's Association, which will distribute them to families in need.
"I know with the recent floods that drought has slipped off the radar, and it is devastating what has happened to them, I really feel for them, but there are still people who are battling drought," she said.
I know with the recent floods that drought has slipped off the radar, and it is devastating what has happened to them, I really feel for them, but there are still people who are battling drought
- Anne-Marie Best
"This trip is another way to open people's minds and remind them that this is still happening. When I did the first one there were big fundraisers on the TV and there was a real frenzy about it all."
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