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No such thing as a free lunch, except for NSW G8 Education teams enduring lockdown
Freya Lucas
Aug 09, 2021
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As the challenges of an extended period of lockdown continue for much of Australia, one early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider has taken small steps to ensure that its team members are acknowledged by shouting them all a free lunch.
G8 Education thanked frontline workers last week by sending free lunch to every one of its more than 4000 educators and teachers in NSW across 180 centres, all of whom are dealing with their own personal challenges through the pandemic yet remain “as committed as ever to creating a safe, happy and normal place for children”.The effect of the lunch offering, CEO Gary Carroll explained, was two fold. Firstly, it raised the spirits of educators, while also making sure that local cafes and take away restaurants received “a much needed economic lift”.
“Early childhood educators have been at the front line of this pandemic since last year, making it possible for essential workers and parents working from home to do their job and keep the economy ticking over,” Mr Carroll said.
“It has been a time of enormous uncertainty and upheaval and many of our educators are personally impacted by lockdowns and restrictions on movement like the rest of the community.”
“They also have children home learning, partners whose incomes have been lost or reduced and concerns for their own health and safety. Despite that, they are there every day making sure the children in our care, especially the most vulnerable, continue their learning journey and have a happy place where the worries of the world stop at the gate.”
He acknowledged that one simple lunch “won’t change the world” but rather the hope of the provider was that the gesture would bring some joy to team members, knowing they are appreciated and valued.
G8 Education educators and children have been reaching out to their communities at this challenging time, boosting community spirit and supporting fellow front line workers through gestures such as sending messages, artwork, food hampers and activities.
Children in the toddlers’ room at First Grammar Bankstown, located in one of the Local Government Areas most impacted by the current outbreak, sent their messages of goodwill to nurses working long hours at the Fairfield COVID-19 testing clinic at Fairfield Showground, while the children and team members of Kingsgrove World of Learning put together a food hamper for workers at the nearby Bus Depot, working through the lockdown to keep the city moving.
To learn more about G8 Education, please visit the provider’s website, here.
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