Home away from home … Wagga’s Ronald McDonald House needs more volunteers to help keep families together during hospital stays. Photo: RMHC South West NSW Instagram.
Joan Stair admits she’s a bit of a cleaning “fanatic”.
At 82 years young, this sprightly volunteer heads in to Wagga’s Ronald McDonald House every Monday and Friday to clean the special place that offers a home away from home for families with sick or injured children during hospital stays.
Joan spends three or four hours mopping, scrubbing and vacuuming the expansive four-bedroom home (complete with three ensuites, lounge, dining, kitchen, playroom, laundry and offices).
“I do it by myself,” she said. “I have my own system and I don’t mind cleaning.
“My family would say I’m a very determined old woman.”
Becoming a volunteer for the house “is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life”, said Joan, who hadn’t previously found time for volunteer work before deciding to put her hand up to help five years ago.
She found out about the work of the charity after a fundraiser run by her local ladies bowls club.
“I thought, I’ve got a couple of spare days a week and I might think about it,” she said.
“I’ve done my time playing competitive bowls; I just play socially now.”
The charity, which has had a name change to Ronald McDonald House Charities South West NSW, is run on donations and the work of a dedicated group of volunteers.
However more helping hands are needed to ensure families from the wider Wagga region can stay together while children receive treatment in hospital.
RMHC South West NSW is urgently looking for more house helpers and volunteers for the dream team shift (5:30 pm to 8 am overnight stay), marketing manager Christy Nochar said.
“Our house helpers do three-hour shifts assisting with general cleaning, tidying, helping with laundry, organising cupboards and tidying the kids’ playroom,” she said.
“The dream team shift is an overnight stay – the volunteer has their own room and bathroom and is on hand to help families if they arrive late or get a call-out to the hospital in the middle of the night.”
The recent name change has come about to better reflect the expansive region covered by the charity, which offers fee-free accommodation to families who often have to travel far from home to access medical care, according to Christy.
As one of 19 Ronald McDonald Houses across Australia, the Wagga facility gives a family with a sick child what they need most – each other.
Joan Stair, 82, has been a volunteer at RMHC South West NSW for the past five years and says she enjoys interacting with the families who come and stay. Photo: Supplied.
Joan said she loved meeting the families who came in and having a chat with them during their stay.
“It’s like a home away from home here. A lot of people are struggling and I really do feel sorry for them … but here you can come in with just the clothes on your back,” she said.
To that end Joan enjoys making up little care packages – with essentials such as toothpaste and personal items like deodorant – or knitted toys “to put on the bed for the kiddies”. It’s all part of creating a warm and comforting environment when people need it most.
Joan, whose husband Noel passed away in 2018, said there was something special about Wagga’s Ronald McDonald House.
“It’s not a sad place,” she said. “I was married for 54 years and when I lost Noel I knew I wasn’t going to sit around and feel sorry for myself. Here you see people from all walks of life but I’ve found people are good to you if you are good to them.”
Joan recalled that last year a woman from Griffith and her children had a stay at Ronald McDonald House and when she went back home, the mother rallied the local school to hold a fundraiser and returned with a trailer full of goodies.
“People are kind like that,” Joan said.
Over the years there have been many people whose stories and situations have stuck in her heart and her mind.
“I remember one lady in particular with a little boy who was born premmie and had difficulties,” Joan said.
“They were here again last year and to see how he’d improved in two and a half years … if I hadn’t seen him before, I wouldn’t have known he was the same little fella.
“It’s wonderful to know there is a place like this people can come back to.”
For more information on how to volunteer or donate, go to the RMHC South West NSW website.
Original Article published by Jodie O’Sullivan on Region Riverina.
