PACKET OF SNAGS OPENS A MUM’S EYES TO SUFFERING
DEBEE Cullum never truly appreciated how desperate things have got for some Gold Coast families – until one of them knocked on her door.
The Southport mother of three’s awakening began when she opened her fridge this week to find a pack of 24 sausages that never got opened at her daughter’s third birthday party the day before.
Knowing they wouldn’t get eaten at her house, she jumped on a local mums and bubs Facebook group and offered them to anyone in need.
What happened next left her in tears.
“I didn’t actually think anything would eventuate but a lady immediately sent me a private message,” Debee recalled.
“She said, ‘I’ve never done this before and it’s really embarrassing but I have three children and all we have for dinner is a tin of spaghetti and the sausages would go a long way’.
“She was quite emotional about it and so was I because my girls (4, 3 and 10 months) had just had steak and veggies. It was a reality check.”
As was what happened next.
“Within five minutes they were here,” Debee said.
“I had raided my cupboard to find anything else that might help cheer them up. I put together two bags of food – biscuits, crackers and the like – and when they sent their daughter in to collect it, she thanked me so many times and ran off screaming ‘Yay, we’ve got food’.
“It absolutely broke my heart. My husband was away on business and I phoned him in tears … you can’t believe a situation like this is actually happening. These were people who had a house but just can’t make ends meet.”
And that’s where Debee’s story would have ended except for one problem.
“I just couldn’t give it up,” she said. “It played on my mind all night and I just wanted to do something, even just to make a little difference.”
With that in mind, Debee has launched a Go Fund Me campaign in a bid to raise $1000 so she can assemble more food packs for needy families.
“I know so many great charities are doing their bit ... and some people have asked me why she couldn’t just go to a food pantry but it’s not about that,” she says.
“She obviously had reasons. Maybe she was embarrassed, maybe it was easier for her to contact me, but my main concern is children were going hungry and this made a difference.”