DOOLEYS Help Provide a Sanctuary for 1500 Families

The Club’s $20,000 in ClubGRANTS covered the charity’s cost of providing approximately 125 nights of supported accommodation to over 1500 families. 

The 60-room Ronald McDonald House at Westmead provides accommodation, home-cooked meals, education services and programs that enable families to continue making happy memories together during one of the toughest times of their lives. For sick and injured kids, having their siblings, carers or loved ones close is as powerful as the best medicine. 

It’s a House of hope that provides stability and alleviates some of the families’ financial and emotional burdens during stressful and uncertain times. You could say that the impact of the support DOOLEYS helps to fund is so big, it’s beyond measure. 

Lydia from Windang in NSW is just one of 1500 families who call the House home every year. She recently shared her family’s story and what the support provided through RMHC GWS has meant to them.

“We have been back here three times and each time the quality of service and care we have received made us feel like ‘we got this’ as we take on a different kind of battle for our son. I don’t think I could make it this far without having this place as my small piece of escape so I can think, recharge and show up for my boys. Our world shattered when Thomas needed a life-saving surgery at two days old and will need ongoing surgeries and support from Westmead throughout the course of his life. We tried to drive the two-hour trip down south but it is not safe nor sustainable, so this place saved us in so many ways.”

When asked what she values most about the House, Lydia said:

“To be able to run to my newborn when he needed me in NICU so I can feed him in three minutes or to be able to have my sons together, so my heart is not torn into two and to keep my boys close together.”

Regarding what the House means to her family, Lydia says:

“Being stuck in the dark four walls listening to all the beeping and dinging staring helplessly at my child takes so much out of me. The House allowed me to rest, have a shower, have a hot meal, smile at people, and just live even for 30 minutes out of the day.”

Finally, Lydia shared a heartfelt expression of thanks to organisations like DOOLEYS who support RMHC GWS.

“Your support actually changes and shapes the lives of so many families. You have taken a huge chunk of burden out of the bad situation we are in by providing this safety net. The medical journey is rough and it can plague your entire existence as a parent, but this House, something about walking past that glass door, the worries are paused and I can breathe, smile, and be normal until I get back to the ward again. This is the best thing for sick kids' families.”