Over the next few days I will be continuing to make up jumper sets for our little ones as well as sort donations out.
We have just had a committee meeting this weekend to discuss donations and next years recipients and have decided on the following:-
1/ Only donations of (New) toys for trauma care, baby products & hygiene products for hygiene bags will be accepted between October to December 2014. Please send all baby clothes and items in January 2015 instead so I can bag up what is here to send out. Being overwhelmed with so many donations, having to photograph them all, edit, upload to the website and Facebook page gets too much and takes my time away from bagging up.
2/ Our recipients for 2014 will be:-
Careflight NSW & NT (baby packs & care packs);
Westmead Hospital (c/o Careflight);
Catholic Care NT (per our 260 orphans & foster kids).
NT police, fire, emergency, ambulance (trauma toys & hygiene bags + hygiene bags fr rangers).
Woodford RFS (Trauma toys and hygiene bags)
Hospital top ups for Young & Dubbo Hospitals + care boxes.
Dubbo VRA and NSW VRA Rescue Squads (trauma toys)
Snowy Hydro Southcare (Trauma toys).
NT remote clinics and hospitals (baby packs)
Small care packs for very few selected services.
3/ We have decided that we will try and get a donor or sponsor of fabric, cotton, stuffing to make the Snowy Hydro Southcare platypi trauma toys and inquire at a small few selected (and researched) prisons for trusted prisoners to make them for us.
This has many benefits both sides PLUS we will have contact ONLY with the prison governor so it keeps our charity and recipients safe.
It is NOT written in stone yet as we need to talk to Garry Smith and get his opinion as well.
4/ We have dropped a few recipients in NSW due to several reasons. All I will say is that I am here to guide this charity and not be a verbal punching bag for peoples' egos and jealousy. This is a very blessed and precious charity and I will not have people try to degrade it or me in any way.
5/ From January to March we will be accepting baby jumpers (large preemie to size 12); hats and bootees / socks; polar fleece blankets (90 x 90cm) so we can send them to Katherine NT for the winter.
Polar fleece only has to be cut and hemmed and many can be made in 1 day where as wool blankets take months to make, are way heavier than polar fleece hence more money in freight.
6/ We will only donate trauma toys in NSW IF we are asked for them by various services (excludes Woodford RFS and Snowy Hydro Southcare & Dubbo VRA Rescue). If services don't ask, they don't get. It costs me an arm and a leg in phone calls chasing services to offer them.
7/ We will no longer do the NSW Ambulance sets.
We WILL be doing the Careflight sets (hat, bootees, smock) all year round and deliver once a year.
8/ We will be going into the Kimberleys and Outback & Top End Queensland in 2016 and 2017 IF we get a sponsorship or grant.
(Maree)