Comfort Packs Bring Smiles All Round

A local and newly formed charity, Bayside Community Emergency Relief, has visited Mayflower Brighton with a generous gift of 150 comfort packs to help brighten residents’ days.

The volunteer group was formed from a simple idea on New Year’s Eve of 2020, as bushfires ravaged Australia, and a Facebook group was launched the next day.

“It was amazing to see how incredibly fast the Bayside community united and swung into action donating hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of items for the January 2020 bushfire crisis,” says president Deb.

Pictured above, Jackie gratefully receives her comfort pack, filled with comfort essentials, handed to her by lifestyle assistant, Alex.

Since the bushfires, the group of volunteers, granted charity status since March, looked to the Bayside community to see how else they could help people in need of relief.

“In April this year, we identified two key areas in our community that we felt would need mental health support during Covid-19,” says Deb.  

One area was aged care, and Mayflower was selected to receive comfort packs due to our not-for-profit status. And, once again the volunteers banded together to make a difference.

Soon after, our lifestyle office was filled to the brim with 150 unique comfort packs.

The Mayflower Lifestyle team gleefully perused the packs and selected one for each resident, taking into account their personal preferences, abilities, and style.

Residents were handed their personalised packs, and inside they discovered a hand-knitted beanie from ‘Our Kitchen Table’, toiletries including scented hand-cream, a word puzzle book and other comfort and boredom-busting essentials.

Jackie was the first to receive her pack, and felt very special. “It was very thoughtful for them to think of us, thank you,” says Jackie.

Christina, whose favourite activity is Target Word, was also thrilled to find a large-print word-puzzle book. “It is very considerate of them to include large print, so I can see the puzzles,” says Christina.

Christina was also grateful to find a lovely hand-cream. “I’ve used this brand before, it’s very nice,” Christina says.

We are touched by the generosity of Bayside Community Emergency Relief who are a welcome addition to our Mayflower Community. It never seizes to amaze and surprise us just how generous you all are.

Bayside Community Emergency Relief’s next mission is creating even more comfort packs for seniors, as well as for children fleeing domestic violence.

“Sadly, domestic violence is on the rise, and the need for pandemic relief ongoing, so our packs are also ongoing,” says Deb.

Their goal is generous, with a timeline coming up fast. “We have 800 comfort packs to deliver before Christmas,” Deb says.

The donations have already started rolling in, but the charity needs more help to reach their goal.

“We are so happy we have some goods already donated, but there’s not nearly enough to complete packs, just yet.”

To help fund this remarkable endeavour, Bayside Community Emergency Relief are running a silent auction online from 9 November 13 November.

If you would like to be part of the online auction, you can do so by visiting their Air Auctioneer site. There are some great items on offer.

To find out other ways you can get involved or to find out more about Bayside Community Emergency Relief, visit baysidecommunityemergencyrelief.com.au or their facebook group facebook.com/groups/baysidecer/

Christina was pleased to find a large printe 'search-a-word' book in her pack, along with her favourite hand cream and other comfort items.

Pictured above is Jackie, “It was very thoughtful for them to think of us, thank you,” says Jackie.

Pictured above: Wilma was delighted to receive her comfort pack, too.