Delivering comfort to those who need it most

Over the past five years, Smartways Logistics have been quietly delivering joy and happiness to kids at 33 hospitals across the eastern seaboard. By delivering The Kids’ Cancer Project’s bears completely free of charge the delivery team have not only brought smiles to thousands of sick kids, but they’ve also saved the charity an incredible amount of money approaching $200,000.

Working for a specialist medical and healthcare logistics company, Smartways’ drivers and staff have always known their work makes a difference. After all, they are delivering essential items such as heart valves, pacemakers, human tissue, bone grafts, replacement hips, knees, chemotherapy treatments, life-saving medicines and much more to hospitals every day.

However, not satisfied with the amazing work they’re already doing, the team at Smartways decided to do something extra, specifically for the smallest patients in hospital – those who need comfort more than anyone else.

One of the Smartways drivers became aware of The Kids’ Cancer Project when his son Alex had been treated for, and thankfully recovered from, medulloblastoma. The family saw the joy bears brought kids in hospital, and they have never forgotten how the charity’s overarching mission is to fund life-saving research so all children diagnosed can have the same positive outcome as Alex did. From there, the partnership was born.

Smartways Chairman, Marcus Wyborn says:

We’ve got a privileged position in providing a specialist logistics service to the healthcare industry, but that comes with responsibility too. We knew that our network and operations could be leveraged to support good causes.

It’s important that we give back and help worthy causes where we can, and The Kids’ Cancer Project’s bear program and our existing services to and from hospitals were a perfect match!

Facing cancer is an incredibly daunting experience for anyone, but for kids, it’s an especially scary and grown-up world to be thrown into. Parents like Mariette, whose daughter Milan was diagnosed with a Wilms’ tumour at just five-years-old, are never prepared for the day they’re told their little one has cancer. She says:

It’s hard to explain to a five-year-old what’s happening, and so as a parent, you search for anything at all that can help soothe the pain and provide some happiness.

It’s easy to think they’re just cute teddies, but I promise you they’re so much more than that. Milan’s bears have been there for her through her toughest days. They’ve been her best friends, her cuddle buddies and have provided a vital distraction from treatments, as well as endless smiles during a time when happiness was very hard to come by.

To date, Smartways have delivered almost 40,000 bears absolutely free of charge. Of course, it’s The Kids’ Cancer Project’s kind supporters who buy and anonymously donate bears, just like the one Milan received, but without the incredible people at Smartways they wouldn’t reach the arms of the kids who need them.

But, if delivering happiness and a much needed distraction from treatment to kids like Milan wasn’t enough, the generosity of the entire Smartways team has a much bigger impact. The almost $200,000 that The Kids’ Cancer Project has saved in shipping costs thanks to the partnership can be re-directed into more vital kids’ cancer research.

To put it into perspective; $24,000 funds a gene panel analysis for 40 children with brain tumours, $50,000 funds the cost of research tests for 50 children to see if a new drug is working, $70,000 funds the salary of a childhood cancer research assistant for 12 months, and $100,000 funds the shipment of new cancer treatment drugs to Australia for more than three years. Joe Taylor, the CEO of  Smartways says:

The work that the charity does is extraordinary and we’re immensely proud that we’re able to be a part of this quest to find a cure for childhood cancer.

It’s so satisfying to have saved The Kids’ Cancer Project those freight costs so that those funds can be directed to important kids’ cancer research. We’re so excited to continue our partnership with the charity and be involved in making a larger impact in the future!

We can’t thank the team at Smartways enough for their committed and ongoing support. Partnerships like these are vital to The Kids’ Cancer Project’s ongoing work and helping to achieve a day where 100% of kids survive cancer.

If you’d like to learn more about our bears program and how your business can support The Kids’ Cancer Project, please contact Effie in the Partnerships Team by emailing effie@tkcp.org.au.