On Thursday 5 April, Newcastle’s John Hunter Children’s Hospital patients were delighted to find the Easter Bunny had hopped in early when they discovered 10 laptop computers in the Oncology Ward kindly donated by Anglo American’s Drayton mine.
Drayton mine Commercial Manager Patrick Clancy said the donation of the laptops was the idea of long term Drayton employee Michael Brown who, with his wife Maria, spent much of last year in the Oncology Ward of the John Hunter Children’s Hospital while their six year old daughter Sherri battled leukaemia.
“Michael has worked at Drayton for almost 27 years and following his daughter’s many visits to the John Hunter Children’s Hospital last year, Michael asked us to consider donating a number of the company’s out of lease laptops to the Oncology Ward.
“Anglo American is delighted to provide this donation to young cancer patients who are isolated from other patients and unable to attend the Hospital’s school due to their specialist treatment and the risk of infection,” Mr Clancy said.
Drayton mine Coal and Partings Supervisor Michael Brown said while the Hospital did have a couple of iPads and other entertainment consoles, Drayton’s laptop donation would make a significant difference to the lives of future Oncology Ward patients.
“Unfortunately many children fighting cancer can endure long absences from school, and while regaining their health is the top priority, these children also need to keep up with their school work, which these donated laptops will help them achieve,” Mr Brown said.
John Hunter Children’s Hospital’s Play Therapist Veronica Oakley said the laptops will be of great benefit to the long-term chronically ill patients in hospital.
“The laptops will allow patients to continue their schoolwork and also therapeutically assist with relaxation activities, fine motor skills and communication in conjunction with occupational therapy and physiotherapy,” Ms Oakley said.
“Patients will also benefit through music therapy to decrease anxiety, release built-up tension and express emotions.
“We are thankful to Anglo American for providing this wonderful donation that will allow patients just like Sherri to benefit in a variety of ways during their treatment,” she said.
Contact:
Metallurgical Coal External Affairs:
Jacqui Strambi: 0439 774 526
Notes to editors:
Anglo American is one of the world’s largest mining companies, is headquartered in the UK and listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges. Anglo American’s portfolio of mining businesses spans bulk commodities – iron ore and manganese, metallurgical coal and thermal coal; base metals – copper and nickel; and precious metals and minerals – in which it is a global leader in both platinum and diamonds. Anglo American is committed to the highest standards of safety and responsibility across all its businesses and geographies and to making a sustainable difference in the development of the communities around its operations. The company’s mining operations and extensive pipeline of growth projects are located in southern Africa, South America, Australia, North America and Asia.
www.angloamerican.com