(Tania as pictured with her godmother, Donna Goudie)
To us, twenty-four-year-old Tania Menzies is a real-life guardian angel. Two years ago, she created a charity, Caring For Kids During Cancer, to provide free child care to parents undergoing cancer treatment. Rescu. talked to Tania about why she established this service, who it benefits, and how the community can help. Prepare to be inspired…
How Caring For Kids With Cancer came about
Tania was looking to expand her business Jelli Beanz, an at-home qualified nanny and babysitter service, into Victoria with Donna Goudie, her godmother, when Donna was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. Tania was so close to Donna that she often travelled to Victoria from New South Wales to accompany her to her hospital treatments. There, she saw firsthand children in the oncology unit who were forced to wait while their mum or dad received treatments, as there was no-one to look after them.
Tania provides this compassionate child care service typically to families who have little or no family or community support, or have exhausted all other resources. It’s the only service of its kind in Australia.
This program has been in operation for close to two years and was previously funded by the Cancer Council. However, the funding has been re-structured and Tania is now looking for sponsorship and donations in order to continue providing this much-needed service.
RESCU: What specific needs do kids have during this traumatic time?
Tania Menzies: “Children who watch and experience their parents going through a terminal or life threatening illness have a range of additional needs to other children. Of course, each family has a different situation and therefore the needs and reactions of the children involved will always be slightly different.
The major need for children at this time is the consistency of their surrounding environment and consistency in the people that are caring for them. Children also need to have a person they can talk to who will understand their situation but is also able to remain removed from it so they are free to ask questions that they may not be able to ask their parents or talk about the way they are feeling. Children may also feel responsible for their parent being unwell or have an insecurity around what will happen in the future if their parent passes away or is ill for an extended period of time.”
RESCU: How is the money raised spent?
Tania Menzies: “Until now the majority of the money for Caring For Kids During Cancer has funded the wages of our staff, specialised nannies. However, we realised that many people in the community also want to give back and are now offering trained volunteers and qualified nannies to provide the care. The funds will go towards the training of the volunteers to ensure that they are able to answer the tough questions and to ensure they are able to provide a high level of care for the children in their care.
A degree of funding will also go towards the coordination of volunteers and families to ensure that the families are matched with the right nanny for them, as well as some administration costs.”
RESCU: What is your target amount for this year and what support will this provide?
Tania Menzies: “We are hoping to raise $55,000 this year, which will mean almost 200 hours of care for around 100 families in the next 12 months.”
RESCU: How do you find the carers experienced to provide this support to children?
Tania Menzies: “We run the program in conjunction with Jelli Beanz, a professional nanny agency. I originally set up Jelli Beanz, but when my godmother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, I decided to establish a not-for-profit arm, which would provide free, compassionate child care.
Using Jelli Beanz as a resource, we interview and screen hundreds of nannies, babysitters and chid care workers each month. When child care professionals apply to work with us, we mention that they have the opportunity to work for Caring For Kids During Cancer as an option they may want to be involved with. Many people are affected by cancer in some way and we find that most of our staff are happy to volunteer a few hours a week to assist local families.
Volunteers have also come aboard as a result of stories in their local newspapers or other media stories which they have read and now want to give back to the community.”
RESCU: Do they require any specific training?
Tania Menzies: “Each volunteer will need to attend a training session that will cover OH and S [occupational health and safety] requirements, which are crucial in protecting themselves and the parents.
They will also receive training on basic child care training, such as behaviour management, and a session on how to respond to a range of difficult questions that children may ask while in their care.”
RESCU: How can we help provide support?
Tania Menzies: “There are a number of ways to help support the Caring For Kids During Cancer program. We are currently looking for 10 local businesses that are able to provide $5000 or more each to ensure this program can continue to run and provide a much-needed service that isn’t available anywhere.
We are also always welcome to having new volunteers come aboard as well.”
RESCU: Why did you lose funding from the Cancer Council?
Tania Menzies: “The Cancer Council were wonderful and provided a huge amount of financial and moral support over the last two years. They even helped to establish the program and get it up off the ground from an idea into a service. Unfortunately, with so many financial commitments and so many worthy organisations, they no longer have the funds to assist us.
They do however continue endorse Caring For Kids During Cancer program and are big supporters and believers in the service.”
RESCU: What are the government’s guidelines for eligibility?
Tania Menzies: “Unfortunately, as we are a volunteer service, the government is unable to provide funding for the Caring For Kids During Cancer program.”
How you can donate, or find out more:
To find out more about this valuable program, go to www.jellibeanz.com.au. Or contact 1300 799 860.
To make a tax deductible donation to this very worthy cause, please call Tania Menzies on 0405 385 099 or email tania@jellibeanz.com.au
Remember every dollar you donate makes a difference to families coping with cancer.