Gifts for nurses: Karen Mills, Donovan Jasper, Barbara Emms, Kerry Schroder and Helen Forbes with some of the donations.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
Echuca Regional Health Medical Ward and High Dependency Unit nurses enjoyed a treat on Friday, September 1, after being donated surprise care packages from local church groups.
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Kerry Schroder and Kellie Taylor, nurses at the hospital, said they had seen first-hand the burnout and stress that their colleagues had been working through.
“Our staff have been working incredibly hard, especially through COVID, the floods, lots of staffing shortages,” Kellie said.
“So to have some recognition is really important. We all know that people are behind us, but to actually have something in our hands, it means a lot to the staff.”
New Life Baptist Church’s Associate Pastor Donovan Jasper said there was a huge appetite within the church community to get involved in the call to action.
“As soon as we raised the idea with the people in our church community and the other churches, there was a great response of people saying, ‘oh, how can I get involved?’” Pr Jasper said.
“People really just wanted to jump in and either pack themselves or buy a stack of stuff and give it to put in the packs. Even writing out the personal thank-you cards and that sort of thing.”
Kerry said there was so much help from different organisations within the community to make this surprise happen, including Radcliffes, The Odd Captain and Fuzion.
Goodies day: Mollie Karl, Stewart Wilson and Bec Webb and treats and bags from churches and Big Hearts.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
Project Care looks forward to thanking other departments in the future as further donations follow.
For anyone in the community who would like to support the cause: People can create a care pack bag with a number of different items, or they can donate individual items that can be used to put in with other donations to create a pack.
Drop-off point: The Salvation Army Thrift Shop, 19 Ogilvie Ave, Echuca.
Any financial donations can be made using the banking details below online or by visiting the Bendigo Bank Echuca branch:
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