Inside Story With Snooze

In August 2016, a team of 227 Snooze delegates, which included franchise and supplier partners travelled to Fiji for a national conference. Whilst they were there, the team had the opportunity and privilege to spend time with locals from a nearby village and participate in a school rejuvenation project.

The village the group visited was in the outskirts of Nadi where some of the children who attend the school live too far away to travel daily, so they board at school during the week. Some of these children only live 10 kilometres away, which may seem a small distance to those of us with a car, but these families do not have access to regular and reliable transport.

After visiting the school prior to the conference the Snooze team saw the condition of the dormitories and knew that they could help. “The dormitories are their ‘home away from home’ and we wanted to make it as comfortable as possible for them”, Snooze’s Event Coordinator Alex Robertson, said. “We wanted to give something back to the community and a donation of beds seemed like a great place to start”!

That one little idea started something very big and the Snooze team ended up spending one very busy and productive morning at the school, not only transforming the dorms, but the kitchen and common areas as well. The team built brand new bunk beds from scratch, painted anything in sight including both the interior and exterior of the buildings, replaced flooring and constructed new furniture.

In addition, Snooze contributed to the repair of the school’s toilets and supplied kitchen equipment such as new microwaves and urns. The work the team did will have an impact on the daily lives of these children for many years to come and the local villagers were extremely grateful.

Alex went on to say “it was by far the most rewarding experience that the delegates had encountered and the absolute highlight of the conference! Without doubt one of the best aspects of working on a project like this, is the joy seen on the kids’ faces!”

“They showed us around their school and were so proud. The kids loved played soccer with the team and even lent a hand painting and building".

Of course, no visit would be complete without gifts! Sporting equipment, stickers, colouring books, pencils and books were left for the children – and undoubtedly will be put to good use and treasured.

All up, the project represents a donation of over $18,000 AUD in goods and materials to the school. Snooze also partnered with the local Red Cross to donate some of the bedding and mattresses used in the product expo to families in need after the devastating cyclone that ripped through the area earlier in the year.

Snooze could not have pulled it off without the support of its supplier partners who in addition to sponsoring the conference, kindly donated their time and put funds towards materials such as vinyl flooring. A special mention to Sealy, who organised the donation and delivery of 52 foam mattresses for the new bunk beds that the team built on the day.

Dining room before (top) & after (bottom)

For more information on Loloma House please contact our support centre at enquiries@snooze.com.au.

For more information on Red Cross Humanitarian Aid in Fiji or to make a donation visit https://www.redcross.org.au/.