TLC for Kids in 2015: The Year So Far

There’s no two ways about it – 2015 has already been a whirlwind year for TLC for Kids. We’ve moved office to Brunswick, conducted a nation-wide fundraising campaign with Bakers Delight and organised an incredible fundraising Dinner at The Carousel….and it’s only mid April!

Now that we have a moment to take our breath we thought we’d put pen to paper to fill in our lovely supporters about our fundraising this year.

 

TVSN Charity of the Month – February

TLC for Kids was lucky enough to be TVSN’s Charity of Choice this Februrary. For the entire month of Februrary, TVSN promoted TLC for Kids and what we do. As if that wasn’t enough, just before Easter we received a $10,000 cheque to spend on helping and supporting sick children nation-wide, as well as their families. Thank you so much TVSN!

 

 

Bakers Delight Bundraiser

This year we were honoured to partner with Bakers Delight for their annual Bundraiser Day. A portion of each sale of Hot Cross Bun packets was donated to TLC for Kids, and Bakers Delight stores nationwide had collection tins at their registers. The numbers are still being crunched, but whispers suggest that around $80,000 was raised for sick kids on the day. Incredible! Thank you to Bakers Delight and to all those who purchased or donated.

 

TLC Charity Dinner

The Dinner! If you’ve been following our movements this year, you might have heard about the event that was donated to us by our extremely generous supporter Tolga Kumova. Venue, food and styling were all donated by Tolga, and the TLC for Kids Team (with inestimable help from Progressive PR and Flock Agencies) banded together to produce an amazing evening….in the space of just two and a half weeks. All up, thanks to the generosity of our guests on the night and our donors who donated auction and raffle items, a grand total of $63, 030 was raised on the night.

 

There you have it! Those are just three of the things that have made 2015 an amazing year for TLC for Kids so far. Sick children and their families continue to slip through the cracks of existing charity services, so every cent counts. Thanks to everybody who has helped or contributed.

But…the year isn’t over yet! It’s not too late to sign up for Tracky Dack Day  (or share the link with your friends and family), volunteer your time, or give whatever you can to help.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Distraction™ Box Testimonials from Hospital Staff

“The TLC Distraction™ Boxes provide invaluable resources that are integral in effecting a positive (or at least less traumatic) experience for children, parents/carers and staff, in performing invasive experiments and procedures on children in the emergency department. By definition, such toys not only distract the child from the immediate treatment at hand, but from the greater stressful environment of the emergency department surrounding them.” (Royal Darwin Hospital)

“The TLC Distraction™ Boxes have proven to be wonderful for our immunisation clinics and programs. Thank you for your fantastic service; all the nurses and clients at Cooma and Jindabyne Community Health truly appreciate this unbelievable free service.” (Cooma and Jindabyne Community Health)

“A fantastic service provided, and an essential part of the treatment of paediatrics in our paediatric department. Thank you for continuing to provide these items and for making an emergency visit for children a little easier to cope with.” (Benalla and District Memorial Hospital)

“The TLC Distraction™ Box is very much a part of what we do now. While I’m unable to comment on reduction in pain relief, the difference it can make to the parents and children is clearly visible. Children who are so upset can often be distracted by and seem to settle more quickly after the injection.” (Queanbeyan Health Services)

Midsumma Fundraising Day!

Thank you to all our volunteers for helping out today at the Midsumma Festival and for raising much needed funds for our kids 🙂

MEET THE TEAM!

Sarah is the Distraction Box Coordinator at TLC for Kids, which involves responding to requests, packing the boxes and sending them to children right across Australia. She loves to travel, and prior to starting at TLC for Kids Sarah was living in Greece and England. She worked in real estate for a few years but realised that her passion was to help others and wanted to do more to help give back to the community. Sarah finds working at TLC very rewarding and fulfilling, knowing that she is a part of the reason why many sick children find a cause to smile.

TLC MONASH CHRISTMAS PARTY

This Christmas we celebrated with the Children, Parents and Staff at Monash Hospital.

There were many laughs and smiles from everyone. What a fantastic rewarding day it was.

A huge thanks to Anthony Demasi (Luigi Zucchini) for being hilarious and bringing so much joy to the children spending christmas in hospital this year!

Moving Day!

Moving can be stressful, even more so when you’re moving from one hospital to another.
TLC for Kids helped ease the stress for every child moving from the old Box Hill Hospital to the new hospital on Arnold St by ensuring that each child had a bag full of goodies to take with them.
Watch all the excitement of the move here:

http://bit.ly/1xMiPI8

Sharing is caring!

Thank you to May Mitchell, who sent through some pictures of her son Chris enjoying the gifts he received from TLC for kids.
We’re so glad we could put a smile on your face, Chris!

TLC for kids story: Cathryn & Laura

One day life was normal for Cathryn and Laura’s family, and the next day things changed dramatically, forever.

Cathryn and Laura (6 and 8 years old), were in the car with their much-loved Grandmother, when a terrible, unexpected accident occurred. The girls both sustained severe head and body trauma, which was extremely frightening for not only them, but for their entire family.

Whilst they both survived, they tragically lost their Grandmother, who was a constant support in their little lives.

In situations like this, TLC plays a very important role – being able to be there for the hospitals and staff that identify the need for the emergency support, and being able to provide them with this kind of support when it’s needed the most.

The purpose of the RAPID TLC Program is to be able to offer a personalised support service, providing the emotional and/or practical assistance to protect the emotional wellbeing of the child and family unit.

The RAPID TLC is the only immediate support service in Australia, acting within a 24-48 hour period, and doesn’t have ANY waiting lists.

 Here is a letter from the family:

 Dear Deb and the TLC for kids’ team,

 I just wanted to say that the girls were absolutely delighted with the iPad Mini and gift cards that you so generously gave them. Their faces just lit up, which was such a welcome to see after everything that they’d been through.

 The girls made a thank you poster for the TLC team, and wanted me to include it in the photo. There are a couple of photos but I will have to send them separate – I am not that clever on the phones! However I’m sure the girls will be able to teach me how to take much betters photos and send them along …………Thanks again for everything & best wishes.

 

TLC for kids story: George

George was 4yrs old.

He was only a little boy when he was diagnosed with Ependymoma, a malignant brain tumour.

Over a period of 18 months, he had undergone 5 surgeries, 4 cycles of chemotherapy, 7 weeks of radiotherapy, and countless medical investigations. He had in excess of 15 hospital admissions, and despite his series of visits, he maintained a strong desire to be a “normal” little boy, and “just like everyone else”.

Hospital staff at the Royal Children’s Hospital wanted to help George and his family as they were in certain financial distress, as well as emotional distress, and thought they could use some help with the cost of car hire and tickets to children’s activities for their upcoming Queensland holiday. George has been undergoing such demanding treatment that they were waiting for it to be completed before the break

 

TLC provided an activity package for their holiday to the Sunshine Coast, including tickets for all the family to the infamous Australia Zoo, plus a family pass to ‘Underwater World’ at Mooloolaba. Budget car hire was also booked which included 2 Booster seats and 1 Infant Child seat for George and his siblings, hoping to make their travel a more comfortable and affordable journey. They had a wonderful time!

George didn’t let medical treatment and illness get in the way of life. He commenced a wonderful year of 4year old kinder, and then started school which he loved.

Unfortunately his tumour then progressed, and he was forced to spend his first Easter school holidays at the Royal Children’s Hospital again, this time, undergoing 16 hours of serious brain surgery.

When he was eventually discharged, he developed complications, and was readmitted.

On this particular admission, the staff decided to contact TLC for kids for some more support.

TLC decided to cheer George up by delivering some amazing Lego. He had such a great time making a Fire station, a Fire truck, a Helicopter, a Fire boat and even a house on fire!

The Lego was a wonderful distraction for George during the many hours spent away from his home, his two little sisters, his friends and his school.

It brought a huge amount of pleasure to a little boy – thank you TLC.” – Hugh’s mum, May 2013.

Here is a letter form the family:

Dear Deb and the TLC for kids’ team,

George absolutely loved the Lego, it brought such a huge amount of pleasure to such a little boy. I have attached a couple of photos of him with the Lego. You can’t really tell by the photos that he has a huge smile on his face, because unfortunately he has extreme facial weakness post his last surgery, but let me assure you he has! You made his day and have once again brought some sunshine back into his life, during yet another hospital horrible admission.

Thank you for your kindness, it is sincerely appreciated.

TLC for kids story: ANGUS & ROBBIE

Angus was a 4mth old baby diagnosed with a condition called Cerebral Irritability. This caused him to be very unsettled and extremely fractious. He would sometimes settle when he was rocked in his Mother’s arms, however it was very stressful to see him so upset and constantly crying. The constant crying and trying to settle little Angus was causing his Mother to become completely wrought with fatigue. A request came through from the hospital asking for TLC’s help: “…It would be lovely for (Mum) not to have to hold him all the time, and to find something else that might help him – perhaps a mechanical swing to create movement, and soothing music to put him to sleep.” Angus also had an older 3yr-old brother called Robbie*. Robbie was not coping with Angus being in hospital and being so far from home. The hospital recognised that Robbie would also benefit from a toy or something special just for him to take his mind off Angus’ absence. TLC provided a RAPID for Angus, being a Baby Rocker, which helped make him a little more comfortable with the gentle rocking and soothing music that it provided. They also included two full sets of batteries, in the hope of providing baby Angus with some freedom from the constraints of his health condition. TLC also included a few toys for Robbie, to make him feel extra special but to also provide some fun distraction while visiting Angus in hospital, as well as at home. We were so pleased to hear about the difference this made to the whole family… Here is a letter from the family:  Dear TLC for kids’ team,  In early November our little Angus was in the Royal Children’s Hospital for the 2nd time since his birth, undergoing further testing for rare neurodegenerative and metabolic disorder, called Cerebral Irritability. During this time of turmoil and chaos in our lives, it was just so wonderful to receive such generosity and kindness from you. You provided us with a baby swing to help nurse Angus during his unhappy times, and a swag of wonderful toys for Robbie, our 3year old, to enjoy. I can’t tell you how touched we were by this gesture, and how overwhelmed we were by your kindness. For the first time in months, Robbie felt really special and learnt to attribute fun with hospitals. It has been really hard on him too. I am so sorry it has taken us so long to thank you for your very generous gifts. We are eternally grateful. Thank you for making us smile again.