The community of Forbes has once again shown wonderful generosity towards Ronald McDonald House Charities Orange with the gift of beautiful hand-made quilts for families.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Forbes resident Miriam Melissi made the trip to the Orange house to present 30 quilts which have been made by a group of local women involved with The Scouts Hall quilting group.
"This would not have been possible without the dedication of around 20 women in our quilting group who have made everything from cots sized baby quilts to larger quilts," Ms Melissi said.
She said after so many years of sewing and teaching at TAFE in previous years, it was lovely to know that the donation will in some way help ease the burden on families in Ronald McDonald House Orange.
"Ronald McDonald House does such a wonderful job supporting families from our area, and all of us are just so pleased we can do something to help," she said.
To all those women in Forbes who have sat for hours creating these gorgeous quilts, on behalf of everyone at Ronald McDonald House Orange we can't thank you enough and would just like to let you know you are making a beautiful difference in the lives of our families.
- Rebecca Walsh
Executive Officer of Ronald McDonald House Charities Orange, Rebecca Walsh, says it is gifts like the quilts from Forbes which go a long way to helping families feel someone cares, in their time of need.
"When we have a family arrive who has a child who is unwell and needs treatment in Orange, we always present the child in hospital with a gift bag with a quilt, as well as new toys, books and activites," Ms Walsh said.
"It is so lovely to see the look on the face of the family when we present them with the quilts and gifts.
"To all those women in Forbes who have sat for hours creating these gorgeous quilts, on behalf of everyone at Ronald McDonald House Orange we can't thank you enough and would just like to let you know you are making a beautiful difference in the lives of our families."
Since Ronald McDonald House Charities Orange opened the doors, 74 families from Forbes have stayed at the house for a total of 282 nights while receiving medical care in Orange.
In total, the Orange house has provided 766 families from the central and far west with free accommodation for as long as they need it, equating to 6,220 nights of accommodation.
Ronald McDonald House explains that more than half of those nights have been for families who have a child or adolescent experiencing a mental health crisis requiring urgent treatment in Orange at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit.
This is the only unit of its kind outside Sydney.
Ms Walsh said, however, a growing trend involving more demand for accommodation at Ronald McDonald House Charities Orange is for women from Forbes and Parkes who are identified as having a high risk pregnancy, who need to stay in the house to be closely monitored by specialists at Orange Hospital.
