In 2019 Gary and Kerryn Anderson tragically lost their six-week-old grandson, to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The shock and the sadness radiated through the family as they came to terms with their loss.

In an effort to support other families who are going through the same thing as well as help prevent future tragedies, Gary and Kerryn decided to support the charity Red Nose. Red Nose is a leader in education, research and support of SIDS and the families who have experienced it.

With the onset of COVID-19, Gary and Kerryn wanted to make contact with Red Nose to understand what effects they had seen and what sort of support they required going forward.  With the assistance of their Relationship Manager at Equity Trustees, Kerryn and Garry met via video conference with Keren Ludski, CEO of Red Nose and Amy Johnston, General Manager at Red Nose.

In addition to sharing her deeply personal experience with the death of her own son Ben (an experience that she shares with more than 3,000 Australian families each year) Ms Ludski also acknowledged the challenging time that COVID-19 presents for Red Nose.

A difficult time ahead

The Charity anticipates a significant drop in revenue due to the cancellation of key fundraising events as well as the effect of a downturn in the economy. Additionally, all of their  employees are now working from home and their volunteers have been stood down.

At the same time, there has been a steep increase in their telephone counselling requirements and many of their support group meetings for families affected by SIDS have been moved to video conferencing.

Like many for-purpose organisations, Red Nose faces the challenge of increased demand for their services and decreased revenue.

Hope for the future

But it’s not all doom and gloom, because with some key funding support, there are some exciting research projects that Red Nose are evaluating to help stop SIDS affecting thousands of families every year.

Gary and Kerryn came away from the discussion with some good insights into not only the key priorities of Red Nose for the coming year, but the significant challenge the COVID-19 poses for for-purpose organisations.

Kerryn reflected that she “has a really good understanding of what they’re trying to achieve and how Gary and I can best support them to do that in the coming year.”  With Gary adding: “it is great to hear firsthand how the leaders of Red Nose are thinking about their future.”

If, like Gary and Kerryn, you’d like to connect with some of the for-purpose organisations you support, please contact your Relationship Manager directly or email Charities@eqt.com.au.