Cookie, RRT’s furry mascot has turned 1!
11th of May marked Cookie the Kookaburra’s first birthday!
On Cookie’s debut as RRT’s global mascot, he set out to be a supportive, compassionate, community friend who always seeks to win the hearts and minds of our communities.
Over the past year, Cookie has ‘flown in’ to hundreds if not thousands of events all over the globe and today we’d like to celebrate some of the most significant events he’s attended.
In May 2019, Cookie and the team in Australia supported the Bike for Burns 2019 event, a seven-day cycle event riding from Bundaberg through to Brisbane Hospital to raise funds to improve research and treatment of burns, and for nursing care for burns victims.
In June 2019, Cookie and the team in France supported Emergency Services fighting fires in Garons (Gard-30). Over 400 meals and more than 1800 bottles of water were served to the Firefighters.
In July 2019, Cookie and the team in the USA served over 400 hot meals to families of Ridgecrest and Trona California. Within two days, these areas had suffered two major earthquakes leaving around 50 – 75 properties damaged and so many without homes.
In August 2019, Cookie flew in to support emergency services responding to a large scale disaster unfolding in the town of Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire, UK, when the dam wall which held back over 300 million gallons of water started to break down. After a week-long battle to make the wall safe, finally the residents were allowed to return home. In the eight days that RRT was in attendance at this event, Cookie and the teams provided over 4000 meals!
In Jamaica, Cookie and the team responded to the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian. Hurricane Dorian hit the Abacos Islands in the Bahamas as a Category 5 Hurricane. It spent more than 40 hours directly above the Bahama islands, leaving an estimated 13,000 homes destroyed and as many as 70,000 people homeless. RRT packed 576 boxes of vital supplies in Kingston, Jamaica, which were airlifted to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) located in Nassau, Bahamas.
In September 2019, Cookie and the team in the USA, supported the Annual Purple Ride Stride Event in Minneapolis. The event raises necessary funds and awareness to support persons living with Pancreatic Cancer. RRT supported the participants with two ‘water stops’ along the course, serving chilled water and refreshments. This year, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network raised an amazing $395,237 at this Minnesota Event alone.
In October 2019, Cookie joined the team from Bournemouth Hospital Charity in the UK to trek the Great Wall of China, raising funds for the hospital, the team raised over £22k, an incredible achievement by all involved.
In November 2019, Cookie and RRT Australia brought hope and a helping hand to 450 farmers in Narrabri as part of their Farmers Community Connect initiative, supporting those who have been affected by Australia’s worst drought in living memory. RRT towed in 400 tonnes of livestock pellets, 400 x 20kg of poultry pellets, and offered a free BBQ lunch, original glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts and barista coffees for farmers, and the local community to enjoy.
In December 2019, Cookie and the team in Australia started the Operation Christmas Dinner campaign by gifting 636 farming families a $250 cash card, totalling $159,000, to drought-affected families. This was to ensure that families affected by the severe drought could afford to put Christmas dinner on the table.
In January 2020, Cookie and the UK team from Kirkcaldy supported the Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland charity, at their Rabbie Burns Firewalk Challenge. Their Scotland-wide services are available to over 4,000 children, young people and adults through a helpline, workshops, individual and family support, home and hospital visits, youth clubs, health check clinics, one to one key workers and respite.
In February 2020, Cookie and the RRT Teams in New Zealand continued their work with local police forces throughout the country, donating Family Food Boxes for the Police to hand out to vulnerable families in times of desperate need.
In March 2020, the Bushfire Relief reached new heights in Australia, with Cookie and the team donating over 65,669 meals across 372 events! Thanks to our dedicated volunteers, 1,125 fire trucks were filled with millions of litres of water through our Rapid Water Systems initiative and close to $700,000 was donated to families who have lost their homes.
In America, Cookie and the team sprang into action, providing hot meals to victims and volunteers in Cookeville, after a Tornado struck the town in Putnam County, 80 miles east of Nashville Tennessee. It was the strongest-rated tornado nationwide in nearly three years, tracking more than 275 miles across the state.
In April and May 2020, Cookie again stepped in to help thousands of people all over the globe affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic, by providing food boxes for those most in need.
We look forward to seeing what Cookie achieves before his second birthday!
Watch what Cookie has been up to across the globe!
