Brisbane Pro Bono & Community team dish up support for healthcare workers
09-February-2022This initiative was sparked from a conversation Gillian Gehrke, Associate in Brisbane’s Government team, had with a friend and healthcare worker about the current conditions medical teams are facing due to COVID-19, including long hours and extreme staff shortages. Gillian asked, ‘what do you need?’ and her friend simply replied ‘food!’. Out of that conversation came the idea for the ‘Feed our Healthcare Workers’ project.
The project aims to provide practical support to healthcare workers on the COVID-19 frontline by organising the regular delivery of individually packaged meals prepared by catering companies. The project is intended to run over the next six months in support of Brisbane Emergency Departments, ICUs, COVID-19 wards and testing clinics.
Sparke Helmore is organising the fortnightly delivery of meals to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital’s COVID-19 wards and Emergency Department, providing 150 meals (a mixture of delicious and nutritious salads, sandwiches and wraps). Every $10 donation provides one meal for a healthcare worker.
Gillian and the team have also been encouraging other law firms to get involved, including promoting the project through the latest issue of the Queensland Law Society’s weekly newsletter. The response from the legal community has been fantastic – seven law firms have registered interest in the project. For example, Allens is donating 70 meals to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital; Barry.Nilsson 80 meals to the Princess Alexandra Emergency Department and Ryan Murdoch O’Regan is providing monthly lunches to the QUT Fever Clinic.
Gillian, with support from colleagues, is the point of contact for both the legal community and health services and is coordinating a roster so that law firms know where and when deliveries will be gratefully accepted.
Congratulations to Gillian and all involved on delivering a project like this, which will make a significant different to the lives of frontline workers.