Rapid Relief Team brings comfort to families in hospital lockdown (Sydney)

Aussie charity, the Rapid Relief Team (RRT), has provided some food and comfort for families caring for their little ones to the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation while under Covid-19 lockdown. 

RRT has donated Food Boxes, Comfort Snack Packs, Smarrt Cookie nutritional bars and lollies to The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation and the children’s hospitals they donate to, so families can minimise their need for travel to get essentials and reduce risk of potential exposure to Covid-19. 

RRT Operations Director, Dan Alderton, said its part of a wider, ongoing RRT effort to help the vulnerable and those facing difficult life circumstances during the current pandemic, from east Sydney to west.

“In addition to providing some food and comfort, the RRT Food Boxes, Comfort Snack Packs, Smarrt Cookie nutritional bars and lollies also do a great job at putting some smiles on faces - little and big,” Dan Alderton said.

“These past few weeks have been challenging for a lot of Aussies, particularly for young ones in hospital and their families. 

“That’s why we’ve donated 20 Food Boxes, 400 Comfort Snack Packs, 260 Smarrt Cookie Nutritional bars and 150 packs of RRT lollies to The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation Children’s who then donated this to the hospitals they support, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick.”

The Rapid Relief Team is made up of volunteers from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC), recently recognised for their sandbagging efforts protecting homes during the Western Sydney floods.

Volunteers from the charity have also been hard at work in the Western suburbs, supplying a number of RRT Food Boxes to locals facing hardship due to the current lockdown.

The Food Boxes have been distributed with the help of Blue Mountains City Council and the NSW Police, helping ensure they reached those most in need and in a Covid-19 safe way.

Typical recipients of the RRT Food Boxes are temporary or casual workers, or the elderly, isolating at home. 

The RRT Food Box contains a variety of non-perishable, long-life food. The Food Box is designed to last a family of four for up to 48 hours, giving them time and space to find sustainable, ongoing support.

“We are driven by our values of care and compassion,” Dan Alderton said. 

“We hope these contributions can help make life just a little bit easier for some of our fellow Sydney families and individuals that are currently doing it tough.”

RRT donated 9,585 Food Boxes across Australia through 2020. 

Media enquiries: Bas Bolyn 0447 486 195

About the Rapid Relief Team (RRT)

The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church established the RRT in 2013 to express the Church’s principles of care and compassion. The RRT is staffed by Church volunteers who provide catering services at a range of charitable events and emergencies.

Globally, the RRT has more than 14,500 volunteers and operates in Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, France, the United States, Canada and Germany.