Helping Little Hands: Great Aussie Charities You’ve Never Heard Of…
Helping Little Hands believes the best medicine you can give a premature baby is time with its mum and dad. So they provide practical support for the families of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) so that their valuable time can be spent with their baby.
The Mission:
Our vision is a NICU journey that minimises the emotional stress, health and financial impacts on families.
Why is this a problem?
When a baby is admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) life as it was for the family ends. Priorities change and what was once important is sidelined. Daily tasks are put on hold while life revolves around the NICU schedule — cares, cuddles (and car parks).
The best medicine you can give a premature baby is time with its mum and dad. So helping little hands provides practical support for families of the NICU so that their time is spent with their baby — giving kangaroo care, expressing, breastfeeding and spending time by the bedside.
By taking away the stress of necessary, everyday tasks we hope to make a positive contribution to the journey of NICU families.
King Edward Memorial Hospital in Subiaco is the largest NICU in the Southern Hemisphere. If a baby is born prematurely in WA and requires care, they are sent to KEMH. It supports over 3,000 premature babies each year. While the babies receive the best care possible, the family needs can be sidelined.
Where did it all begin?
Myself and my husband Adam, along with another couple Scott and Joanne Beedie, founded helping little hands (HLH) last year. Having been through NICU journeys, we felt compelled to create something that would provide support to mums and dads in similar situations.
When Adam and I found out we were pregnant with identical twin boys, we were unprepared to say the least. We were told they could come early but we never expected them to arrive so early — exactly 3 months early. Naively, I clung to the idea that I would give birth and they would come home with us soon after.
Our first days in the NICU certainly shattered that idea. We had to quickly piece together a new normal; one that was very foreign to anything we’d experienced before. James and Fraser had a ‘home’ and we made it ours.
Four days into our NICU experience both our boys became very ill. We were scared and anxious in an unfamiliar place. We had two sick babies in hospital and one confused two-year-old at home. We spent weeks travelling between the boys’ incubators and our daughter’s bed trying to spend time with everyone.
After 3.5 weeks James died. After 3.5 weeks I finally got my first cuddle with Fraser.
One hundred and twenty-three days after James and Fraser were born we got to take Fraser home. For over 4 months we juggled NICU life with the needs of our toddler, Evie. We got through it by celebrating milestones (at home and in hospital) — by baking kilo cakes and painting pictures. We got through it because we had support from family, from friends and from all of the incredible NICU staff.
Life outside the hospital walls is life — beautiful, chaotic, full of love and laughter. With each day that passes since we brought Fraser home, we are more thankful for the care and kindness shown by the NICU staff. We watch Fraser growing into a very determined, funny little boy and think about how far he has come.
And we think about everyone who has babies in the NICU and how we can help them; how we can make their new normal a better normal.
We continue to be inspired by the people we meet on this journey and hope to meet many more wonderful people that would like to get involved and support NICU families.
A day in the life at Helping Little Hands:
No two days are the same for helping little hands. We spend much of our time servicing our NICU community — providing nutritious nibbles in the parent’s lounge and someone to chat to. We have a network of graduate parents who offer support and hope to families who are on their journey.
The Impact:
In less than six months we provided over 500 meals to families of NICU babies through our dinner’s ready program. These meals mean parents are getting at least one full nutritious meal a day.
Many of our families have other children at home. The meals we provide allow parents to spend time with their children rather than preparing a meal, which — let’s be honest — after a day spent cotside at the hospital is likely to be nothing more than toast.
What do you do with your donations?
100% of our donations go into our programs. We are volunteers, our Board are volunteers and everyone who provides services or donations do so voluntarily.
Any volunteer opportunities coming up?
We are always looking for volunteers and support.
Love to cook?
Helping Little Hands is looking for cooks to join its dinner’s ready program. Just throw in a few extra portions to your own home cooked dinner twice a week, freeze and deliver them to helping little hands’ drop off site. Home cooked meals and a show of support make the world of difference to our NICU families.
Can’t cook? No problem!
Help keep our mums and dads healthy and energised by donating non-perishables such as cereal bars, biscuits, porridge pots, tuna tins or soup sachets. Our pantry goods drop off box is looked after by our friends at Karibu Café, Bagot Road, Subiaco or the Blue Spoon in Wembley.
Financial Donation
A long NICU journey puts a lot of our mums and dads under financial stress. Help us provide some of life’s basic needs to our families through a much needed financial donation.
Time Donation
Helping Hittle Hands is looking for electricians, plumbers, gardeners, cleaners and other domestic service providers to support our NICU families keep their houses running and maximise their time with their bubs.
Would you like to run a marathon to raise funds for helping little hands, organise an office pantry goods collection, shake a collections tin at a footy match or just spread the word to friends and family that might be interested in helping?
If you can help in any way, please contact us today!
All donations made to Helping Little Friends are tax deductible.
Website link: www.helpinglittlehands.org
Facebook Link: www.facebook.com/HelpingLittleHandsAustralia
