Without the fantastic support of the Parkes Community, we would not have raised the $34,434 which will remain in Orange to directly support families from Parkes and indeed the entire Central and Far West, when they need to stay at the house in Orange to be close to their child in hospital.

Since the house opened, 208 families from the Parkes District have stayed at the house for a total of 1399 nights free of charge.

This equates to a combined saving in accommodation for those families of $192,750.

These figures show that more families come to stay with us than any other town or city in NSW.

At the RMHC, families are also provided with emergency meals, complimentary breakfasts, toiletries for their room, grocery items for self-catering, and a beautiful gift bag of new toys, handcrafted blankets, baby clothes, books, activities and more.

In the lead up to Wear Red Day 2021, myself and volunteers from the Orange house visited Parkes and met with Deputy Mayor Cr Barbara Newton and president of the Parkes Chamber of Commerce, Geoff Rice, to outline the work we do here at the house in Orange to support families from your area.

They made us feel so welcome and we were heartened by their intention to support any fund-raising initiatives in the future where possible.

The funds raised on Wear Red Day are particularly welcome here at RMHC Orange, as for the last two years in a row we have had to cancel our major fundraiser, the annual Gala Ball which we usually host in September.

Of the 7566 nights of accommodation provided to families so far from the Central and Far West, more than half have been for families with a child or adolescent experiencing a mental health crisis requiring urgent treatment in the specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health unit in Orange Hospital.

Families of these young people stay with us for weeks or even months at a time, until they are well enough to return home.

However the other category which has grown exponentially in the last two years, and affects many families from the Parkes District, is the number of women identified as experiencing a high risk pregnancy.

Here at the house we are able to provide accommodation for up to weeks at a time, so the pregnant mother can be closely monitored by specialist hospital staff nearby.

Our thanks also go to the Parkes Champion Post for helping us spread the message of the work we do here at RMHC Orange supporting families from your area.

Rebecca Walsh

Executive Officer at Ronald McDonald House Charities in Orange.

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