AN act of generosity from a Gunnedah business has ensured a visit from Royal Far West’s healthy kids bus.
Gunida Gunyah has donated more than $21,000 to the Every Gunnedah Child working group to help secure the visit in September.
The bus will offer free comprehensive health checks to children aged between three and five years old and will offer a range of specialist consultations such as dental, optical and behavioral.
The donation comes after months of fundraising by the working group and other generous donations from individuals and organisations such as PRAMS and Gunnedah CWA.
Gunida Guynah is an Aboriginal corporation who’s main focus is housing services.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Jane Bender told the Namoi Valley Independent the chance to bring the bus to Gunnedah was too good to pass up.
“This bus is such a good opportunity for our community to have all of these vital services all in one place,” Mrs Bender said.
“Services that local families would normally have to travel several hours for will be right in our town and will eliminate both the cost of those visits and the stress that is often associated with having to travel so far to access those services.
“Honestly, regardless of background or ethnicity, this is a great chance for our community to take advantage of these services and then if need be, follow up with a specialist within our local region.”
Mrs Bender said the company was always committed to helping bring the bus to the region.
“I think it shouldn’t matter where you live, in this day and age everyone should be able to access these services,” she said.
“That’s why Gunida Guynah was committed from the first time bringing the bus was mentioned late last year, to helping make it happen.
“It’s not about recognition, it’s about making sure as many local families take advantage of this opportunity as possible.
“We were always going to support this cause because it is something that we as an organisation feel strongly about and we have seen first hand the great work Royal Far West does with some of our clients.”
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The bus will stop at the Gunnedah Town Hall from September 11 to 13 and will feature a variety of activities for the whole family.
“We will be there when the bus is in town for sure,” Mrs Bender said.
“We have a great programs team here and while we don’t know exactly what activities will we have going on the day, I’m sure they will be excellent and they could be anything from a sausage sizzle to face painting, we’re not sure yet.
“The important thing is to get as many people there as possible and that is why we will be offering free transport to our clients to help get them there.
“It’s all about getting them there because this is a great opportunity and luckily for us we have a great board of directors who saw the importance and helped make it happen.”
- For more information about the bus or to register, contact Royal Far West on 8966 8557 or visit www.royalfarwest.org.au
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
