The Bays Hospital nurse Belinda Finn, recently delivered 26.5kg of plastic bread tags to Adelaide, to fund the donation of wheelchairs to disadvantaged people in South Africa.

Belinda, who was responsible for making The Bays an official Aussie Bread Tags for Wheelchairs collection site in March 2022, said The Bays had collected 71,500 bread tags for recycling in just 18 months, with the help of the Mornington Peninsula community.

Belinda also picked up another 9 boxes of tags from a collector in Ballarat on her way to Adelaide.

Aussie Bread Tags for Wheelchairs is a charity that collects plastic bread tags, sells them to a South Australian recycler, and uses the funds raised to purchase wheelchairs for disadvantaged people in South Africa.

It takes 200kg of bread tags to fund a wheelchair, and so far 85 wheelchairs have been donated since the charity began.

Belinda and her children painstakingly and patiently sorted the bread tags by colour.

Local community members are encouraged to continue dropping off their plastic bread tags (no cardboard please) to The Bays Hospital to support this important cause.

The Bays HR Administrator, Debbie Spiers has also been spreading kindness to cancer patients at The Bays, since her best friend Kelleigh sadly lost her sister Bridget to bowel cancer a couple of years ago.

Bridget – who was affectionately known as Boo – received a Big Hug Box while going through her cancer treatment, which brought a smile to her face during a very difficult time.

This inspired Kelleigh and Debbie to get involved and help others by raising funds to donate Big Hug Boxes to others.

The Big Hug Box gives comfort to cancer patients, and contains practical items to combat the common side effects of cancer such as:

  • bamboo pillowcase
  • cozy socks to keep feet warm during chemotherapy
  • natural lip balm and moisturiser
  • relaxation tea and cookies

Kelleigh now organises an annual walk in Bridget’s memory called Boo’s Walk, where walkers donate what they can afford as an entry fee, and all proceeds are used to purchase Big Hug Boxes.

Kelleigh and her team of walkers recently donated 30 Big Hug Boxes to The Bays Hospital to gift to patients, which Director of Clinical Services, Kellie Bamberry and Debbie have been delivering.

If you’d like to donate a Big Hug Box to cancer patients at The Bays, visit The Big Hug Box website.