Pass the Parcel 


 

 

Our Club, as well as probably all of the other Clubs in NSW and Australia is in a hiatus mode as a result of the COVID virus.  Therefore, we are unable to employ our usual successful fundraising programs.  Yet, the need for money, since many in our community,
have lost their jobs, has increased and not decreased. We were, and are still, suffering from lockdown blues and frustrated with our personal connections with each other now limited to online meetings.

 

We wanted to do something low-key that would benefit our local community particularly those suffering from isolation and loneliness. Bryan Bartlett is our Membership Director but also is the local Captain for the Salvation Army in Katoomba. He is at the coal-face in knowing the needs of our local community.

 

So we just got a big envelope and passed it around to all our members up and down the Mountains. A bit like the old Pass the Parcel game we played as kids.

 

There were only two rules. Firstly we asked for a modest donation, dollar notes only. Secondly it was the recipient’s responsibility to promptly get the parcel to the next person within the current lockdown regulations. As our members stretch from Winmalee in the East to the Upper Blue Mountains and all the way to Lithgow in the West, it was a challenge.

 

It took some ingenuity and meant members making unique arrangements with each other to pass the parcel at a mailbox, a front door, or public carpark. We complied with masks and social distancing. We had a couple of members who were essential workers and could travel outside their LGA and they were able to deliver the parcel. Within a few days, the envelope had gone up and down the mountains a few times and finally landed on Bryan’s desk.

 

To his great surprise (and ours), we were able to collect $815 to go the Salvos in Katoomba. Great result and it also highlights the importance of the human connection.