Nor'West News: November 19, 2020
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4 Thursday <strong>November</strong> <strong>19</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
NOR’WEST NEWS<br />
WESTFIELD LOCAL HEROES AWARDS<br />
Three Christchurch people have been named as Westfield Local Heroes.<br />
Bea Gooding and Matt Slaughter catch up with them<br />
Resilience needed in stressful role<br />
WHEN THE February 22,<br />
2011, earthquake destroyed Jan<br />
Nottingham’s home, landing<br />
a job at the Ronald McDonald<br />
House South Island was just the<br />
lifeline she needed.<br />
With nowhere to go, she leapt<br />
at the opportunity to become a<br />
live-in night supervisor, ensuring<br />
families felt welcome at the<br />
house while undergoing treatment<br />
at Christchurch Hospital.<br />
Knowing a thing or two about<br />
resilience herself, Nottingham<br />
believes she was made for the<br />
role and has since been a guaranteed<br />
source of comfort to hundreds<br />
of parents and children for<br />
more than eight years.<br />
Whether it was a shoulder to<br />
cry on, making sure families had<br />
meals to come home to or just<br />
being there for a cuddle, Nottingham<br />
does not view the role<br />
of “house mum” as a job.<br />
So when she was one of the<br />
three winners of the Westfield<br />
Local Heroes awards as voted<br />
by the community, it came as a<br />
surprise.<br />
“I thought, ‘has this really happened<br />
to me?’ It was absolutely<br />
humbling and overwhelming to<br />
PRIDE: Ronald McDonald House South Island night<br />
supervisor Jan Nottingham has been recognised at the<br />
Westfield Local Heroes awards. <br />
have been nominated and to win<br />
that award,” she said.<br />
The awards recognise individuals<br />
who go above and beyond<br />
for their local communities.<br />
She was awarded a $10,000<br />
grant as a result, which will be<br />
used to refurbish the education<br />
room at the house.<br />
“Through Covid-<strong>19</strong>, we found<br />
that a lot more people are working<br />
from home. so we needed to<br />
update our education room and<br />
to make it more modern,” said<br />
Nottingham.<br />
“Depending on how long their<br />
sick child is here for, mum and<br />
dad can set their computers up<br />
and work from home while they<br />
are here.”<br />
When others are winding<br />
down for the night, Nottingham’s<br />
day is just getting started.<br />
Starting the day at 4.45pm,<br />
she spends the next 12 hours<br />
introducing new families to the<br />
home, ensuring operations run<br />
smoothly overnight, and being<br />
on-call for any emergencies –<br />
medical or otherwise.<br />
Many families were under<br />
immense stress, whether it<br />
was children receiving cancer<br />
treatment, children with serious<br />
injuries, or expectant mothers<br />
going through a complicated<br />
pregnancy.<br />
Times like these were what<br />
made the job challenging, but<br />
what gave Nottingham strength<br />
was pouring her heart and soul<br />
into the role.<br />
Said Nottingham: “You do feel<br />
for what the families are going<br />
through under those circumstances<br />
as you’re on that journey<br />
with them. You’re somebody<br />
that has to have empathy, understanding<br />
and maturity.<br />
“If you love what you’re doing,<br />
that’s what makes you strong.<br />
“But it’s always rewarding to<br />
see a family go home. That’s the<br />
nicest thing, it means the child is<br />
well enough to go home.”<br />
Nottingham grew up in<br />
Invercargill and moved to<br />
Christchurch when she was<br />
21-years-old.<br />
She worked for Air New Zealand<br />
as a sales executive before<br />
working at a travel agency.<br />
When she has a chance,<br />
Nottingham loves exploring the<br />
outdoors and plans to tick off all<br />
of the great walks of NZ, with<br />
Fiordland’s Routeburn Track<br />
next on the agenda.<br />
Although it was a sharp twist<br />
of fate that led her to the Ronald<br />
McDonald House South Island,<br />
she would not have it any other<br />
way.<br />
“With the earthquake I was<br />
left without accommodation, so<br />
in the interview I could see that I<br />
was the right person for the role,<br />
just knowing that I was compassionate<br />
and had empathy,” she<br />
said.<br />
“I’ve enjoyed being a mother<br />
to all the people coming through<br />
the house.”<br />
Excellence in service and delivery of results<br />
throughout the process.<br />
Cameron was fully involved right through the campaign and has<br />
a fantastic support crew behind him. We couldn’t fault any part<br />
of our campaign and will happily refer Cameron Bailey to all our<br />
friends and family!<br />
- Michelle & Michael -<br />
Phone or text 027 555 7079<br />
No.1 Harcourts Canterbury 2012-<strong>2020</strong><br />
cameron.bailey@harcourts.co.nz<br />
No.1 Harcourts New Zealand 2017-<strong>2020</strong><br />
www.cameronbailey.harcourts.co.nz No.1 Harcourts International 2017-<strong>2020</strong><br />
Licensed Sales Consultant REAA 2008<br />
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