Meet Ronnie Benbow, Female Founder and Director of The Carers Foundation Australia.

She’s also a passionate carer advocate, and was Moreton Bay Citizen of the Year 2021, QLD Australian of the Year Nominee 2021 and Femeconomy Qld Voices Winner!

Her supporters include The Coca-Cola Australia Foundation, 96.5 FM Family, Your Digital File Smarter Security, Epic Hair Designs, Lord Mayor's Charitable Trust, Westpac, HWL Ebsworth Lawyers, James Frizelle Charitable Foundation, Aquila Creative, JWJ Consulting, Women & Change.

Female Founder and Family Caregiver

Ronnie Benbow, is not just a female founder and director. She’s also a family caregiver. These two passions came together and created in her a burning desire for over a decade to create a healing, nurturing center that would rejuvenate and educate family caregivers who were experiencing extreme stress and exhaustion.

Ronnie knows professionally and personally the relentless demands and debilitating stress that family carers face on a daily basis. As a registered nurse with a degree in health science and a professional background in health care and personal caring circumstances she’s seen it all.

Aside from her many years as a nurse and community worker, Ronnie has also personally cared for her husband, Michael, who was paralysed from the neck down in a near fatal accident. She also cared or one of her four sons who had a debilitating medical condition. Finally she cared for her elderly parents, until her beloved father passed away.

When the Dream Comes True

For the past 15 years, Ronnie and her husband Michael (formerly in business management), combined their professional skills and used their retreat facility to privately fund and offer respite and support for carers in crisis.

Ronnie and Michael would see carers arrive that were stressed, exhausted, almost broken. They would also be riddled with guilt for taking time out. They soon realised there was nowhere for them to go when they were at breaking point.

They saw hundreds of carers leave feeling empowered and having a completely new perspective on their situation. Working with Ronnie and Michael they learn to become more resilient. And they developed a sense of hope knowing that if there was a continued struggle at home, they could come back another time.

The most rewarding outcome was to see carers meet others in similar situations. This enabled them to share problems and find new solutions, plus make new lifelong friends with people that completely understood what it's like in their situation. And that helped to ultimately alleviate the social isolation that is often associated with caring.

After seeing the significant difference these programs made, they were inspired to formally establish and incorporate the charity in 2015 as co-founders.

They then began the battle to seek external funding so they could scale the impact of their unique wellness programs, acutely aware of how so many more carers needed support.

The Carers Foundation

In 2017, The Carers Foundation Australia received their first government grant to provide wellness programs to carers.

This was backed up by a three-year flagship partnership with The Coca Cola Australia Foundation – to provide wellness programs to young carers. Current funding sources include donations, grants and active fundraising events.

The Carers Foundation is a registered DGR1 Health and Education Promotion Charity with full tax deductibility.

The foundation is led by Ronnie, founding director, a board and active ambassadors. Its work is also supported by a qualified team of professional therapists, counsellors and dedicated volunteers. All members have to have caring experience or have been carers to be eligible to join the Foundation team.

Even though they are currently a small charity, they have a big impact and incredible outcomes.

Who are carers?

Carers are mums, dads, grandparents, siblings and other family and friends who look after someone who becomes sick. This might be through cancer, medical conditions, accidents, mental health, aging or disability.

Carers can also be children as young as eight years old. They provide any type of emotional or physical support, for any amount of time.

Most of us don’t think it’s anything special to be a carer. It’s just a part of life. We’re just doing what you do as a mum, dad, daughter, son or friend. While this is true, caring for someone who is sick is an unavoidable part of relationships. Caring for someone also has risks to your physical and mental health.

Anyone, at any time, can become a caregiver due to an accident, cancer, medical illness or mental illness.

There are currently over 2.65 million registered carers in Australia. And most likely there are many more that are not registered.

Carers save the economy over $64 billion annually, which is over $1 billion per week! The entire medical system would collapse without family carers doing what they do. The Carers Foundation Australia identifies and acknowledges that these carers need to be supported physically, emotionally and mentally.

Female Founder and one of the 50 Most Inspiring Women

Ronnie was recently featured in Courier Mail as South East Queensland's 50 Most Inspiring Women.

What I love most about Ronnie is her relentless love for those who need it most. She is the epitome of care and is the brightest light that draws everyone to her and her commitment to making others' lives better. She is a truly exceptional advocate and is the real deal.

Keep an eye for her on stage in 2022!

As a woman with influence, Ronnie is part of our Women with Influence Community. Maybe you can see yourself being part of this community too!?

Click here to find out more…