Sharing the care Jane Davies

The beautiful historical regional town of Braidwood in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, is firmly on the road trip radar for Sydneysiders and Canberrans. With its historical buildings, boutique shops, chic B&Bs and destination cafes and restaurants, it’s quintessential country Australia.

But Braidwood’s thriving community of local residents live and work in one of the many regional areas of the country that relies on donations, philanthropy and community spirit to help it get through the tough times.

With family farming connections in Braidwood going back more than 150 years, locals Jacqui Clarke and her husband Michael, are part of the fabric of the Braidwood community. Passionate about connecting people with their community, they’ve been raising money and awareness for the Humpty Dumpty Foundation for years and in the process, positively changing the lives of sick children and their families.

“Michael and I first donated equipment to Braidwood Hospital through the Humpty Dumpty Foundation back in 2016 after learning of their need for emergency equipment they didn’t have,” says Jacqui.

You can see that the money is going towards medical equipment specifically requested by hospitals and facilities, and that these medical appliances have realtime and real-life benefits from the moment they arrive.”

From their initial donation in 2016, the Clarke’s have been important advocates for the work that the Humpty Dumpty Foundation does, not just in Braidwood but throughout regional and isolated areas of Australia.

“We’ve been so moved that the equipment donations help save lives that we wanted to encourage our friends and others looking for ways they can help, to donate to Humpty. We’re in a fortunate position to donate ourselves and be able to spread the message to others in a similar position.”

“There’s always been a strong commitment within local regional communities to help each other. Since the drought, the bushfires and COVID-19, awareness of the very real ways the regions are doing it tough has become more widespread but critically the long-term needs of communities extend much further than the immediate relief,” says Jacqui.

Asked if the difference in the way the Humpty Dumpty Foundation works makes a difference to people’s perception of donating, Jacqui is quite clear.

“We have to share the care. Everyone has a right to healthcare and simply because you live in a regional or remote community doesn’t mean your right is any less than those living in the city. What the Humpty Dumpty Foundation does is connect those less able to access the resources, with those that can help provide them."

“Without a doubt, providing an immediately measurable donation is extremely rewarding. But in conjunction with that we need to help join the dots. Connecting hospitals to Humpty, donors to hospitals, getting the word out and telling people and organisations that this is happening, are all vital parts of continuing the fantastic work that Humpty does.”

“Because hospitals are able to ask for exactly what they need, donors to Humpty can fill those particular and unique gaps, rather than simply wonder where their money went. And when you can count children helped and lives saved in actual numbers, people know they’re making a difference.”

But there is plenty of work to do and Jacqui personally understands that she can play an important role in awareness-raising through her network for the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, as well as educating people on how they can help.

“By telling people what I’m doing, sharing it on my social media and encouraging others to do the same, I can sow the seeds of participation. I love telling people about the fantastic cafe’s, bakeries, boutiques and restaurants in Braidwood, by giving a shout out to them on Facebook and if I can do the same for Humpty, that’s huge!”

Jacqui’s enthusiasm and drive for Humpty’s work is evident and stems from a strong feeling that equality in healthcare is deserved by all.

“Humpty helps on a very local level. It’s all about supporting and investing in our own communities and doing what you can to foster and build them so that they can continue to thrive. We’ve got to do more than just welcome new families and businesses but provide the facilities they need to live and work and encourage new people to be part of their community. By helping the Humpty Dumpty Foundation you’re helping everyone.”

The Clarke’s divide their time between Sydney and the country, but the greatest sense of community comes from their time in Braidwood, seeing the results of their first donation and others since, has given her family a deep sense of gratitude for the community.