Imagine that you have just received the worst news possible – your child is seriously ill, and you need to relocate your family in order to receive the lifesaving treatment that your child needs.
You would drop everything right? But what does that actually mean?
To many families, it means uprooting their entire lives, and those of their sick child and his or her siblings. It means moving far from home to be with their seriously ill child. It means a great deal of stress, angst, pain, and worry.
Ronald MacDonald House Charities Greater Western Sydney provide a safe, warm, and loving “home away from home” for up to 371 people each night and over 2,000 families per year.
Whilst their child is attending treatment, the “House that Love Built”, as it is affectionately known, provides these families with support to ensure they can concentrate on what is most important, their sick child and family.
Some families stay at the House for a few days, but many are at the House for weeks, months or sadly, even longer. The House is open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, 365 days a year and the RMHC Houses and Programs are run by a tirelessly hard-working team of staff and volunteers, aided by the generous support of donors and corporate partners, proudly including Provender.
Whilst there is so much for them to be worrying about, families who stay at RMHC Greater Western Sydney do not pay for their accommodation or any of the support services provided by the House. These, and 100% of the operating expenses of the House, are raised entirely from donations and general fundraising activities from a combination of corporate partners, generous local businesses, and community groups, as well as many fundraising events held throughout the year.
One such annual fundraising event is the CEO – Walk in my Shoes and we are so proud to say that Provender’s Managing Director, Antony Dutton, will be participating in this year’s event.
Alongside 11 other fabulous CEO’s, Antony will spend 24 hours gaining a first-hand understanding of what parents and carers go through on a daily basis, getting an opportunity to see what it takes to create the best possible experience for a family at the House that Love Built as well as getting to know the families staying at the House in Greater Western Sydney.
In addition to raising awareness and funds for RMHC – Greater Western Sydney, Antony will join his fellow CEOs to:
● Cook and serve dinner and breakfast to the 60 resident families.
● Be guided through real life scenarios, gaining a better understanding of what families go through.
● Use their skills and knowledge together to tackle a business issue.
● Gain a unique insight on what it takes to run the House and create a true sense of empathy for the families that stay at RMHC Greater Western Sydney.
Ronald McDonald House Charities Greater Western Sydney CEO Walk in my Shoes is a 24 hr immersive experience from 26-27 October 2023.
Provender proudly supports RMHC as its preferred charity partner
In addition to CEO Walk in my Shoes, the team at Provender have been involved in several fundraising initiatives in 2023, including participating in the March Plank Challenge
Many of our staff committed to planking for 60 seconds or more each day during March and were able to raise $1556.00.
As the average daily cost to accommodate families in the House is $150.00, our contribution equated to 10 days of accommodation for a family at Ronald McDonald House Charity GWS.
Provender has also donated a vending machine that stands in the main common area of the House so that families and staff can access delicious snacks and drinks at any time of the day or night.
11 staff members from Provender Head Office in Sydney also provided dinner to over 150 people as part of the RMHC – GWS Meals from the Heart initiative. Under the ever-watchful eye of the resident catering manager at the House, our team prepped, cooked, served, and cleaned up and were rewarded with hundreds of grateful smiles from families who are going through unimaginable trials with their families.
More on Ronald McDonald House Charities Greater Western Sydney
The very first Ronald McDonald House in Australia opened in Camperdown next to the Children’s Hospital in 1981. In 1995, RMHC Greater Western Sydney (GWS) relocated the House to Westmead to continue providing vital services to families after the hospital had relocated to Western Sydney. Today, their purpose-built – House That Love Built – 60 room Westmead House:
- provides a safe place to stay,
- caters for families of all sizes
- is a home away from home for up to 371 people each night and
- hosts over 2,000 families per year.
The House has a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. Many meals are provided for families and if they choose, they can also cook for themselves in the extensive family kitchen and BBQ facilities located on the ground floor of the House. There is a learning centre where kids undergoing treatment as well as their siblings can learn, engage, socialise and have much needed fun whilst they are staying in the House.
The expansive family lounge rooms offer a wonderful place for families to mix, support each other, relax, and spend precious time together in a setting designed to be as comfortable and carefree as their own living room at home would be.
Laundry facilities are provided in some of the larger family rooms and meticulously kept laundry rooms are available on each floor. There is even a room in the House dedicated to a hairdresser who can be booked by family members who simply are away from their sick children for any length of time.
Through their accommodation and support services, the magical team at Ronald McDonald House Charities Greater Western Sydney strive to keep families together when life gets turned upside down due to their child’s illness.
RMHC Australia relies on significant financial and volunteering support from the communities in which they work, as well as businesses, including McDonald’s Australia.
Provender will continue to proudly support Ronald McDonald House Charities as their preferred charity partner because we believe, as does the staff and management of Ronald McDonald House Charities that: