Stories of #GoodChange
Good Neighbour #6: RAYDEL (Rainbow & Nature)
... when it comes to making decisions we always are going to be 'for helping people'. If it’s going to impact their lives positively, then it’s an easy decision to make.
Since we’re about to launch our Winter Warmer Hamper campaign later this weekend, we’d like to give the spotlight to one of our corporate partners, RAYDEL (Rainbow & Nature).
Our latest #GoodNeighbour RAYDEL (Rainbow & Nature) is the healthcare brand of Rainbow & Nature, which aims to provide the foundations of a healthy life to all. What’s a health-focused brand doing here, you might ask. Well, they have generously donated hygiene products such as hand sanitisers for our upcoming community support project.
In fact, they have donated their products with us for two years in a row, in various campaigns that helped various marginalised Australian communities. This includes supplying the Cambodian and single mothers from Myanmar diasporas with health products in both the 2020 and 2021 Winter Warmer Hampers.
Check our interview with RAYDEL (Rainbow & Nature) below to find out why they chose to dedicate themselves for people’s wellbeing.
GN: Could you briefly tell us about yourself and Rainbow & Nature (and RAYDEL)?
JL: So my name’s Jason Lee, nice to meet you! I’m the general manager of the organisation, Rainbow & Nature. We’re in complementary medicines—so that’s the category that’s used by the TGA. If you want more information about the company itself though, well, my parents first started this in 1986 as a health foods store.
Meanwhile, RAYDEL (Rainbow & Nature) is the brand we created. Rainbow & Nature is an organisation and brand that was inspired a lot by my father, and what he wanted to represent. He used the ‘ray’ from the sun’s rays—because you can’t have a rainbow without sunshine and its rays after all, which is part of the reasoning behind Rainbow & Nature too—and then the ‘del’ stands for ‘delight’. What we’re trying to spread is ‘delight’ anyway, because our company’s motto is to improve the quality of life. That’s why I think what we do is very much in line with what Good Neighbors Australia is trying to do as well.
GN: How did you hear about Good Neighbors Australia and why did you decide to get involved?
JL: In all frankness, it was passed to my desk. We have a great team at Rainbow. One of my team members came to me with an opportunity saying, “Look, we can do a gifts-in-kind donation to Good Neighbors Australia.” So I did some quick research into your organisation and it seemed like you were doing fantastic things on your own, from an organisational point of view, and so it was a very simple choice and decision to make. And that’s why we decided to contribute.
GN: How would you say RAYDEL (Rainbow & Nature) approach social issues?
JL: So obviously, we’re a business and at the end of the day we need to make sales and profits, but a lot of what we’re doing is trying to benefit others. Even if we are at a loss sometimes. It’s not great for us, because we need to think in a sustainable way for ourselves to continue, which is key if we want to continue providing benefits to society, but thinking in the long-term, when it comes to making decisions we always are going to be ‘for helping people’. If it’s going to impact their lives positively, then it’s an easy decision to make. We’d like to think that we really are helping people in a meaningful manner.
GN: Do you have a motto you abide by?
JL: Our overriding mission is to improve the quality of life. That lives on in every single aspect and every single thing that we do. Right now for us, that means improving people’s health. We provide that improvement in health with our products and services…but of course, within our overarching motto we also have guidelines and core values.
One of them is actually harmony, which I believe is also one that Good Neighbours Australia shares. We don’t want to leave someone behind and this strongly applies to our team. As a team, as a member of society, we don’t want to be left behind. I won’t go into all of them, since there’s a fair few, but another key one is nature.
We get inspired by nature. A core root of a lot of the products is sourced by nature and that also has implications in what packaging material we use. We’re going through a transition to make all packaging recyclable…and we hope to get to a point where we are having a positive impact on the environment because if we are being inspired by the environment then we should also be looking after it, in turn.
The other ones are all important, like integrity, courage and things along those lines that guide us on a day-to-day basis, but those two were the main ones.
I think it’s an ever-constant battle. Every day I wake up thinking…what’s actually considered to be ‘right’? This is especially true for science, and this is also probably applicable to humanitarian efforts too. What’s right today may not be right tomorrow. We won’t ever be perfect, but I think we can try, at the very least.
GN: What would you say has been a milestone achievement for RAYDEL (Rainbow & Nature)?
JL: Once again, I’m hesitating to answer it, because there’s been a lot. This is an example but previously we weren’t in a position to help Good Neighbours…but now we can, and I consider that a milestone. To put it shortly, we’ve reached a point where we can finally give back to the community. It’s hard to pin down a solid milestone, because we’ve been progressing so rapidly everything is an achievement. Every day we are accomplishing something different so I consider each brand new day a milestone. Also, seeing my team members grow is an amazing feeling too. Really gives you a strange parental feeling, despite me being younger than some of my teammates.
GN: Would you like to share any messages?
JL: I hope our products were helpful and made people’s lives better—even if it was just for a bit. I was thinking if I should pass any advice, but I think that would be much too self-indulgent and arrogant of me to think I could ‘pass’ any words of wisdom because no one can truly fully experience what it’s like to be in a difficult situation. Everyone’s experience is different. All I can say is that I hope it doesn’t last and hope that our soap is helping out someone’s life, in some shape or form.
Thank you RAYDEL (Rainbow & Nature), we couldn't have done it without you!
Interested in finding out more about who works behind-the-scenes at Good Neighbours Australia? From pro-bono legal advisers to our official staff treasurer, we definitely have a diverse team coming from all sorts of backgrounds—all united together by the feeling of wanting to help others.
Are you a business owner feeling inspired by RAYDEL (Rainbow & Nature)?
Helping the community is always appreciated, but it can sometimes be hard to do this as a business. That’s why you can give back to the community with ‘gifts in kind’. Good Neighbors Australia welcomes all ‘gifts in kind’ donations, which include educational material, electronics, medicines and more. See below for a basic overview of our ‘gifts in kind’ donation process. For more information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us – we are happy to answer any questions!
ABOUT
RAYDEL (Rainbow & Nature)
RAYDEL is the healthcare brand of Rainbow & Nature, which aims to provide the foundations of the healthy life to all. They specialise in ‘over the counter’ medicine, including products such as vitamins. There’s a twist too: most of their products are sourced organically, which aligns with their mission of providing the foundations of a healthy life to all, by connecting the power of nature and science.
