Property sales with a bigger purpose
Property sales with a bigger purpose
When Nina and Michael Wines, both doctors, sold their Lindfield home through real estate agent Duncan Schieb, they probably didn’t presume their commission was going to help babies in western NSW.
But that’s where it has gone: an ISOLETTE 8000 is on its way to Dubbo Hospital’s special care nursery through the Humpty Dumpty Foundation.
“It’s a thermoregulation bed that babies are placed in when admitted to the nursery to keep them warm while being closely monitored by staff. These Isolettes can be the smallest of patients' homes for many weeks and therefore having the most up to date equipment to care for these babies is extremely important,” Duncan explains.
Why would an agent-based in Sydney with Knight Frank be donating his commission to buy equipment for a country hospital? The Coonamble-raised farmer's son lost his own son, Lachlan - twin to Oscar, two years ago as a baby while living in New York, where Duncan was a charity auctioneer and agent.
“We lost Lachlan on the 27th of February two years ago. This is one way I can make a difference in his honour with the help of my sellers.”
It’s part of what Duncan describes as “impact-driven sales… to help make the world a better place” where selling property is his passion, but not necessarily his only focus.
“Growing up in Coonamble, Dubbo was the hub for our community. I also lived in Dubbo for a short while and have many friends in that community. It’s an area a long way from a major city, where medical services and access to healthcare personnel are a way behind their city-counterparts.”
Humpty Dumpty is a children's charity that, for more than 30 years, has been providing essential and often life-saving medical equipment for sick and injured children in paediatric wards, neonatal units, maternity and emergency departments in hospitals across Australia.
“My seller’s names will go on the plaques on the donated equipment so they become part of the story of helping others and saving lives. It is all about leaving a positive legacy.”
“This gift will make a significant difference to many of the precious babies born within the special care nursery, where there is an even more dire need for rural hospitals and communities.”
The Wines’ home sold for over $9m in under three weeks.
“I am touched and overwhelmed by Duncan’s generosity, particularly when he is going through his own pain having lost Lachlan. The work of the Humpty Dumpty Foundation is extraordinary. It gives us so much pleasure that our home sale is associated with giving back through this initiative of Duncan’s,” Nina said.
