“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”
– Barack Obama

Bushfires continue to threaten large areas of the Victorian community, with months of the bushfire season still ahead.

Northern Health is proud of the number of staff helping out in the frontline, (see story here), and there are many others also keen to contribute in other ways to the affected communities.

One key initiative was a morning tea fundraiser held on Friday, 10 January, at Northern Hospital Epping, with staff and local businesses coming together to raise funds for the Victorian Bushfire Appeal and Wildlife Victoria.

With the generous support of Henry’s Café, ISS Facility Services, Costco, Coffee Hit Epping and Woolworths Epping, along with our Allied Health physiotherapy department, there was plenty of food to go around, as staff turned up in high numbers to support the appeal.  In the space of a few hours, $1,700 was raised, with 50 per cent of donations going towards the Victorian Bushfire Appeal and 50 per cent going towards Wildlife Victoria.

This is in addition to a number of other fundraising efforts from our staff, including:

• a donation of $5,000 from the Junior Medical Staff Association;
• a bake off by the Emergency Department and Short Stay Unit which raised $933.90;
• over $1500 raised by Ward 14 towards Wildlife Victoria and Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund;
• ISS Facility Services raising $275;
• other fundraisers including Ward 13 and the Surgical Centre.

Across Northern Health, Nurse Unit Managers have also been collecting out of date stock to help care for injured wildlife in the Gippsland region.

Northern Health is also providing staff with the opportunity to make a pre-tax salary deduction to the official Victorian Bushfire Appeal or Wildfire Victoria – available until the end of February 2020, with almost $6000 donated thus far. Click here to download the form.