The ETU working wonders for TLC for kids!
Members of the Electrical Trades Union are joining forces to change the lives of sick kids and their families during their darkest hours in hospital, with the ambitious plan of funding 1000 new TLC Distraction Boxes which guide kids through painful and scary procedures.
In 2012, the Victorian Branch of the ETU came on board as an Official Foundation Sponsor of TLC for kids, with a $25,000 contribution, and the union is now campaigning to engage as many of its 19,000 members as possible, to build on that start-up contribution.
Fundraising has already commenced, with workers raising funds onsite in various locations across Victoria in an active effort to support a small charity that’s moving mountains in children’s health care.
‘The programs run by TLC for kids are a great fit with the ETU,’ says Branch Secretary, Dean Mighell.
TLC for kids is Australia’s emergency response charity for kids in hospital who need emotional support and distraction within 48 hours. There’s no such thing as a waiting list at TLC, these are cases where the kids need urgent distraction for an immediate purpose; to reduce fear and pain and treatment time of scary procedures.
The ETU was particularly enthused by TLC for kids’ way of zeroing in on the cause of distress in the child or family, direct or indirect. Support often falls under logistical, emotional or financial and brings urgent relief to a family already under immeasurable pressure. TLC for kids has deliberately abandoned the typical charity model of taking requests from families, with their services summoned only via referral from health care professionals, removing the laborious process of qualifying families, and allowing TLC to focus solely on need, not a set of criteria.
The ETU is calling upon both the CFMEU and AMWU to get on board with TLC for kids, in their proud tradition of supporting those in need.
‘It’s important to remember that the Union is more than just wages, OH&S and politics, and that community involvement has always been a fundamental of what it is to be a unionist.’
Every ETU workplace will be asked to meet the challenge of purchasing at least one Distraction Box, to the value of $350.
‘If we can get a thousand new Distraction Boxes, that will make a proven and practical contribution to children and their families at times of great stress and anxiety,’ says Dean. A thousand new TLC Distraction Boxes would almost double the reach of the program in Australia.
