Supporting sick children and their families with KINDness
LOCAL CHARITIES
For ten-year-old Savanah Bender being diagnosed with type one diabetes was a complete shock but thanks to the important work of KIND Inc. she can get back to living a normal life.
In May of last year, Savanah grew ill and was rushed to Cairns Hospital where she ended up in the Intensive Care Unit due to undiagnosed diabetes.
Returning home after a week in hospital the Bender family were approached by KIND Inc. who had heard of their ordeal and offered their support.
Kids in Need of Donations or KIND Inc. is a local not-for-profit organisation that raises, administers, and distributes funds to assist children in need of support who have been diagnosed with a terminal or chronic, long term debilitating illness or injury.
Serious medical conditions can be very costly and for many children in the Douglas Shire, when medical attention is needed they often have to travel large distanced to get to the closest major hospital for treatment, adding to the costs.
The government only subsidises a small portion of these costs so KIND Inc. endeavours to cover any out of pocket expenses for local families in need.
For Savanah’s mum, Katie Bender, the help KIND Inc. has given her family after Savanah’s diagnoses has been enormous.
“Initially they gave us a one-off payment to help with covering the cost of being in hospital,” Ms Bender said.
“I was in hospital with Savanah for a week so I couldn't work and just the fuel from driving back and forth from Cairns, it covered stuff like that, it was just really helpful.”
KIND Inc. offers funds for any extra costs associated with Savanah’s diabetes that the National Diabetes Services Scheme [NDSS] doesn't cover.
For the Benders, this is extremely important because as a ten-year-old, Savanah doesn’t like needles but as a diabetic, it is something she has to deal with on a daily basis, so Savanah uses something called an Auto Shield.
The Auto Shield is a covered needle insulin injector rather than the common open syringe needle, however Auto Shields are not covered by the NDSS so KIND Inc. supply the funds to buy the costly needles for Savanah.
“They are covered up so you can't see them and she finds herself a lot more comfortable using those than the open ones.
“It makes a huge difference to our lives because she can do the normal needles but if she didn't have the Auto Shield she wouldn't be able to do it at school by herself,” Ms Bender said.
Savanah added that when she administers the Auto Shield it makes a clicking noise, which distracts her from the actual needle.
“It makes it not as hard and it makes me more normal,” Savanah said.
Both Savanah and her mother added that the support from KIND Inc. doesn’t just come from money but is also emotional support, keeping in regular contact and making sure everything is going okay.
“They are kind,” said Savanah.
In its 11th year, KIND Inc. currently supports 18 local families and aims to fundraise $30,000 a year to be able to continue to help local families ease their financial burdens.
The small committee holds three major fundraisers each year to raise the much-needed funds including their annual KIND for Cash fundraiser which sees 200 tickets sold for $100 each, with the winner receiving $10,000 cash and KIND getting the other $10,000.
Tickets are still available and all tickets must be sold before the draw is held.
KIND Inc. also runs an annual Jungle Ride for KIND fundraiser where 250 bike riders ride from Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation and back.
KIND Inc.’s third major fundraiser is their annual Melbourne Cup day in November where they have fashions of the field, a horse auction, sweeps, and raffles.
If you would like to buy a raffle ticket, attend any of these events, volunteer or support KIND Inc. in any way, visit their website or email info@kind.org.au for more information.
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