The Rotary Club of Ellerslie Sunrise Inc, Auckland, have for some years supported the Guardian Angels Trust and more recently the Adopt-a-Family project.
The project supports families of children who transition to palliative and / or end-of-life care, a time of extreme stress for these families. The project works with club members contributing on a regular basis non-perishable items, whether food or household consumables (eg. dishwashing liquid) and these are collected at the club and delivered periodically.
The impact and appreciation of the recipient families is huge as shown by the following quotes:
From club member and organiser Win Wilson to members: “Last week I delivered the first lot of groceries and met our new family. Mum is bringing up 3 children on her own - 2 boys aged 11 and 14 and a girl aged 17. Ben who is 11 years old has a terminal illness. A delightful family who all support each other and share in the care of Ben demonstrating much love. I received an email this morning from the Mum which I want to share with you all.
It goes like this :
"Thank you very much for the grocery items. Please pass on my appreciation to the Ellerslie Rotary Club for the very generous donations. It is very heart warming and inspiring to know that there is such kindness and generosity in our community.”
In addition the club presented the Trust with a cheque for $1500 from the Club on Friday to support the work that the Guardian Angels Trust perform. This money will be used to purchase Pak ‘n Save vouchers which will be distributed by Jess to needy families.
Anyone or organisation wanting to undertake a similar project can contact Jess Jamieson, Senior Social Work Practitioner, Paediatric Palliative Care Team, Starship Children’s Hospital, 021 946 299 or Win Wilson, Rotary Club of Ellerslie Sunrise, 09 521 4838 or 021483655.
Note that it is possible to offer other extra practical forms of support.
