Chermside’s Hummingbird House Dubbed as Carers Queensland’s Great Service Provider

In line with the National Carers Week 2017, the Hummingbird House was awarded as Carers Queensland’s “Carer-Friendly Business Awards’ Great Service Provider” for 2017. The “Great Service” category acknowledges non-profit organisations that are going “above and beyond” in providing their services.

 

What is Carers Queensland and its Carer-Friendly Business Awards?

Photo credit: Carers Queensland/Facebook

Carers Queensland works collaboratively with their partner organisations to raise awareness and provide services and programs to support the state’s carers and the people they care for.

Carers Queensland formed the Carer-Friendly Business Awards as an encouraging indication that there is an increasing number of organisations that recognise the value of supporting carers. Year 2017 marked the 14th year of the awards program that is recognising some of the most dedicated people and organisations in Queensland.

 

2017 Carer-Friendly Business Awards Winners

Great Service Provider Hummingbird House, Brisbane
Great Employee Naomi Kiehne, Townsville
Great Employer Jamie Blackman, Target Country Roma
Great Service Adrienne Penny, Rainforest Beach Studio B&B, Sunshine Coast

 

Who are the carers?

Melanie's twin boys were born with severe eczema and allergies. After years of going it alone, Melanie found a way to get the support she needed, and help other families along the way.To learn more about Melanie's support group, visit the Hands to Hold Facebook page.

Posted by Carers Queensland on Monday, October 30, 2017

 

Carers are the people who are supporting and walking beside a patient with a terminal illness. Research suggests that carers go through the same pain and emotional challenges as the patient does. Carers Queensland and the winners of the annual Carer-Friendly Business Awards show support to the carers who are continuously giving a part of their lives to their loved ones.

 

About Hummingbird House

Photo credit: Carers Queensland/Facebook

Hummingbird House is the only children’s hospice in Queensland that provides palliative care, not just to children with chronic and terminal illness, but also to their families. They are eager to support everyone’s emotional and spiritual needs.

It’s not just a house, it’s a home. Hummingbird is a home to children with life-limiting conditions and their families, allowing them to reconnect and create memories that will last a lifetime. They provide the “above and beyond” service that the Great Service Provider award seeks through short break stays, family support services, therapies, and care at the end of life.

 

Photo credit: www.hummingbirdhouse.org.au

Hummingbird House was founded because of Paul and Gabrielle Quilliam’s goal to help every children and their families to treasure precious moments together after they had fostered a child with a life-limiting condition. Their dream came true last October 2016 when finally, they opened the doors of Hummingbird House.

Photo credit: www.hummingbirdhouse.org.au

Families from all over Queensland placed 37 hummingbirds over their front door to represent 37,000 children in Queensland with life-limiting conditions. Since then, Hummingbird House has been fulfilling their goal of giving assistance, not just for the patient, but also for their carers.

Kidspace Playground Chermside Holds Picnic to Help the Hummingbird House

Mums of Brisbane is inviting every mum, dad, and parent-at-heart to bring their bubs and kids to the Kidspace Playground in Chermside for a free picnic. Mums of Brisbane is a new group that brings mums together to help them with social isolation and give them informative talks about unique and local perspectives of mum life. They organise family-friendly services and events, such as this social get together.

 

Event Details

Date Thursday, 12 October
Time 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Venue Kidspace Playground

Everything is FREE. Mums of Brisbane will bring some gourmet food and drinks. You don’t even need to BYO picnic blanket, because they’ll bring picnic blankets for you and for the kids. The Kidspace Playground provides a kid-friendly environment where kids can play, crawl, and roll all they want.

There’s a catch, but it’s a very noble one. Just remember to bring any gold coin donation that you can wholeheartedly drop in the donation tin. Mums for Brisbane organised this picnic to raise funds for the Hummingbird House Foundation.

 

Hummingbird House Foundation

Photo credit: www.hummingbirdhouse.org.au

The Hummingbird House is the only children’s hospice in Queensland. For the record, there are only three children’s hospices in Australia. A children’s hospice is a home for children that provides a type of care that focuses on the palliation of chronic and terminal illness and attends to the child’s emotional and spiritual needs.

Photo credit: www.hummingbirdhouse.org.au

Hummingbird House provides a “home” where kids and their families can reconnect and create precious memories that will “last a lifetime”. They help children with life-limiting conditions by providing short break stays, family support services, creative therapies, and care at the end of life.

 

Hummingbird House began in a home and will always be a home.

Paul and Gabrielle Quilliam founded the Hummingbird House as “Queensland Kids” in 2011. Paul and Gabrielle were just typical Queensland couple until they fostered a child affected by a life-limiting condition. Since then, they made it their mission to build a “home” to the children with similar conditions.

Photo credit: www.hummingbirdhouse.org.au

Although the initiative started in 2011, the Hummingbird House just officially opened in October 2016. The foundation had gone through a lot of hard work in raising awareness about their mission throughout the years. The State and Federal Governments’ commitment and other organisations and businesses’ donations to fund the construction of their permanent location were the results of this hard work.

Families from all over Queensland hanged 37 hummingbirds at the front door, which represent the 3,700 children in Queensland living with life-limiting conditions.

Photo credit: www.hummingbirdhouse.org.au

To support the Hummingbird House Foundation, visit their website. You may also check the Mums of Brisbane Picnic’s event page for the picnic details.