A powerful community engagement project is underway at Skye Suites Sydney in support of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) – “a home away from home for sick and injured kids and their families”.
Throughout the year, the hotel team leads a number of charitable activities – from hosting families for weekend breaks, to furnishing bathrooms at RMH in Randwick, and undertaking numerous fundraising efforts such as Gift a Night – a 48-hour telethon-style event where team members endeavour to raise as much money as possible for the charity.
Skye Suites Sydney General Manager, Melaine Robinson, spoke exclusively to HM about the impact the project is having on families and team members.
Melanie, congrats on the success of this incredible partnership. Tell us about the various ways the team has been supporting RMHC?
We are involved in several different projects with RMHC. Our latest project involved creating hotel-styled facilities at the House which is used by the patients and their families. It was a team effort with all hands-on deck. The aim was to make families feel at home, filling the space with comforts and a place they could both prepare to face the world each day, and unwind at the end of the day. We collaborated with some of our suppliers to secure products for their communal and ensuite bathrooms with eight showers each having shampoo, conditioner and body wash dispensers installed. The bathrooms were filled with hand washing products and a huge supply of plush towels and plants. We have an ongoing commitment to provide supplies throughout the year.
Another wonderful activity we have implemented at Skye Suites Sydney is to host RMHC families for a respite staycation and change of scenery. We have committed to a number of these throughout the year for different families. Prior to their arrival at the hotel, we add personal touches to the suites to ensure they feel at home the minute they arrive; this includes a special kids minibar filled with their favourite treats. We plan a family activity at one of the tourist attractions in the area and hot breakfast for the whole family at our neighbouring café’ daily. The Skye Suites team all have face to face contact with the families and are on hand to do everything they can to make things as personalised and special as possible.
As a team, Skye Suites will go to Ronald McDonald House Randwick and host a dinner for all the families. This can be for up to 75 people. We supply all the food and go in personally to cook and serve.
Skye Suites has a strong corporate network we collaborate with across multiple business activities. These strong partnerships allow opportunities to share what we are doing and approach them for support. This is one aspect of my role I really enjoy and having worked on multiple projects I can honestly say it strengthens our working relationships, but most importantly it creates definite changes for the families.
What impact does a staycation have on these families?
We want the families to be able to stay, relax and totally switch off forgetting about their situation for just a couple of days. And to date, that’s what we’ve been able to do for them. They never take their family time together for granted and we are consciously aware of this. It allows them to reconnect as a family with happier memories and the one thing they appreciate is that they get support from the community.
Why is it important for the hotel to get behind causes like this?
Skye Suites Sydney is committed to working within the community to support much needed social initiatives. Our executive leadership team were asked to plan the annual business program. I felt the responsibility to create a legacy for the young future leaders within my team. This generation have a profound sense of conservation and social impact.
I had been touched in the past with what Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) were doing and felt an alignment would tick all the boxes. The program allows the team to be hands-on on a personal level and see direct results from what we do. They now understand the big picture and are emotionally connected to the program.
Why is this cause particularly meaningful to you?
I was personally connected to these RMHC initiatives as in my youth I had two separate friends who were impacted with childhood cancer. With the families being regionally based, the trip into the city for medical treatment was long and stressful, something the families shouldn’t need to deal with. RMHC was a godsend for the families, and I’ll never forget what they did. It not only offers support for the child, but it allows family members respite and a break from the long journey for medical treatment.
Being able to sleep at the house with their child benefits the patient. Having experienced firsthand the stress placed on families, I knew this was a cause we wanted to support. This gave me a personal opportunity to share with my team what RMHC is all about and I knew everything we did was going to benefit the families and patients.
25 years later, having one of my friends in remission with her own family and our other beloved friend fighting an inspiring battle against cancer until 2015, I had long wished to pay back this charity and was humbled to have the chance to provide something impactful back to them.