Doing good in a pandemic
Our organisation, like so many other small businesses, charities and community groups have been significantly impacted by coronavirus (COVID-19).
Currently we have stood down our entire workforce of over 100 volunteers and cancelled or postponed almost every fundraising activity and event out of concern for public safety. Right now, we have no idea when we might be able to recommence these crucial business operations.
COVID-19 for us is particularly challenging as we face the duality of increased demand and decreased revenue. In fact, we’ve completely cleared our fundraising budget until July 2020, and until we have a timeline of when restrictions will ease, we may have to move that date out further still.
However, it is not entirely doom and gloom – we still have many wonderful business supporters working hard to raise funds for us, their Charity of Choice. We’ve also received generous donations from big-hearted individuals who recognise that right now, we are relying on their generosity more than ever.
As we remain focused on supporting our frontline health care staff to ensure they can care for all COVID-19 patients as the virus continues to spread, we encourage our community to stay inside and stay healthy.
If you are in a financial position to do so, you should consider donating to directly help local hospitals and health services. Or perhaps you have some resources you can share such as providing marketing or fundraising support, leadership training or in-kind assistance.
The one thing we hope everyone will do is to be a voice for us - share our posts on social media, tell your friends about us and remind people to please keep supporting the charities they care about. Even during a crisis that requires us to keep our distance in our community, we can still support each other throughout.
Ultimately, our role is to support our local hospitals and health services and despite the pandemic, that is exactly what we are going to do!
T’aire Olsen
General Manager
Mackay Hospital Foundation