Founder charity support: BUSHkids Childrens Health Scheme

Bushkids Queensland

Lifetime of generosity supports kids in the bush

BUSHkids would like to thank Sirron Holdings Group, a leading manufacturer and distributor of catering equipment, for their generous support of our regional service centres.

Over the last six years, Sirron Holding’s founder Mr John Watts—who sadly passed away in 2020 —donated a total of $34,500 to BUSHkids. This has helped us to continue providing free preventative and early intervention allied healthcare to children and families living in regional, rural and remote areas of Queensland.

“It’s only through the generosity of donors like Mr Watts and Sirron Holdings that BUSHkids can continue supporting kids and families who need our help”, said BUSHkids’ CEO Carlton Meyn. “These are kids and families who through availability or affordability are unable to access allied health services such as speech therapy, psychology and occupational therapy locally”.

The values of John Watts, and that of our founder, Queensland Governor Sir Lesley Orme Wilson, were very similar

Bush kids care“Sir Leslie firmly believed that it was the duty of those blessed with wealth and happiness to help others less fortunate than themselves, and it was this goal which drove him to create the Queensland Bush Children’s Health Scheme – as BUSHkids was originally known – to help disadvantaged families in outback Queensland. Mr Watts’ goal of ‘leaving the place better than you found it’, which he expressed through his philanthropy, is a true embodiment of Sir Leslie’s core beliefs”.

“John was a long-time supporter of disadvantaged children and had a particular affinity for outback Queensland. Throughout his life, he would have seen how we have supported kids in the bush”, added Carlton. “John’s father was stationmaster on a property West of Boulia, an area which was a driving force behind the creation of the Bush Children’s Health Scheme in the 1930s. It was from Boulia that the first children travelled to the scheme’s Scarborough home in 1937, and the Redcliffe peninsula, just up the coast from where John grew up and lived for many years in Sandgate, was the centre of BUSHkids’ operations for 68 years. John would have seen us providing care to kids from all across the State”.

painting at bushkids“We were very sorry to hear that John passed away but are sure he would be pleased to know that through his support of BUSHkids he is continuing to help children in remote areas of the State at risk of poor health, educational and social outcomes reach their full potential in life”.

“It’s only by the continued generosity and support of businesses like Sirron Holdings Group that we can continue providing our much-needed services”.

BUSHkids Background

BUSHkids provides free preventative and early intervention allied healthcare (both directly and in collaboration with government and other non-government organisations) to children and families who through availability or affordability are unable to access services locally. BUSHkids specifically targets children who are at risk of poor health, educational and social outcomes reach their full potential.

BUSHkids provides a range of free services for children and their families through its five major regional service centres – in Bundaberg, Dalby, Emerald, Mount Isa, and Warwick – each staffed by a multidisciplinary team comprising Speech and Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists and Family Health Support Workers.

In addition, BUSHkids supports rural communities from four smaller satellite sites – in Inglewood, Stanthorpe, Agnes Water/Miriam Vale and Kingaroy – staffed by Early Intervention Facilitators. These sites provide individual support and advice to families while strengthening the capability of the local community by running group programs for children and parents, running supported playgroups, and providing eKindys in local schools; an innovative distance education program enabling parents living in rural and remote areas to provide a kindy experience for their four-year-old children.

For more information contact BUSHkids’ CEO, Carlton Meyn: Call 0402477649 or email [email protected]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *