A Day in May
On Wednesday 27th May, students were encouraged to Wear a splash of yellow 💛and bring a gold coin donation to support the Musical Moments Trust. Our school community collected $474.50 in donations to support a great cause.
A note from our school family on how they have been supported
From the first interaction their staff were incredibly warm and understanding, sitting with us to build a rapport and more importantly an understanding of our complex family dynamics. From the very first admission we were asked “what can we do to make this experience more comfortable, no ask is too much”. Hux after his initial hesitance warmed to Tom the Challenge co-ordinator on the Kookaburra Oncology Ward, and proceeded to ask for an Xbox to play games on to pass the time……..without hesitation Tom said “I’ll be back tomorrow”. And he delivered with no return date and just an “enjoy buddy”.
We were able to meet multiple Essendon Football Players on their weekly visits to the Hospital in support of Challenge. Players would take time to talk to us, take photos and in a lot of cases the players would stay and play video games, card games or draw with the kids. But this wasn’t limited to AFL/AFLW players, a lot of celebrities came through with Challenge to show support.
Myself personally I was invited to the weekly coffee group, walking group, massage therapy and every Thursday they provided a fully catered dinner in the parents room just outside the ward. To make each of these occasions possible for the parents to attend they would organise a volunteer to sit with the kids, while you escape the four walls of the room and interact with other adults outside of the Oncology space.
Some of the most memorable moments for us outside of the hospital have been:
The 24hr kids only sleep over at the Pulman, where the kids take control of an entire floor and have endless arcade games, a consol gaming area, movie marathons, build a bear stations, buffet dinner and breakfast, face painting, cartoonist, tattoo station, hair braiding station, cupcake decorating, arts and crafts, endless AFL, NRL, Characters and Celebrities attend to take pictures and hang out with the kids all night (6pm – 6am), the list is endless, they truly have thought of everything that would make a child smile from ear to ear. The most reassuring part is that there were full time Oncology nurses and doctors at the event to administer regular medication for those still actively in treatment.
Participation in Challenge fundraising days. One event was the Challenge boot decorating where the kids got to decorate a player’s boots with the player. These boots were later auctioned off. Arcadias Charizard (Pokémon) on Dylan Shiels boots received massive reviews from all of the players with Dylan making sure Arcadia felt like an absolute super star. And the most memorable day that brought a lot of emotion for Hux and I, was after a month long hospital stay he was able to walk unassisted out on the field with the Essendon players for the annual AFL Challenge foundation match, where the kids also drew nominated players and presented their player with their drawn picture at the teams selection.
Their services didn’t and don’t stop there, from Fuel, Grocery and Coffee vouchers, the opportunity to attend AFL games when tickets are available to our preferred matches (as a predominantly Essendon supporting family this has been a blessing and a curse), a shoulder to cry on, in home cleaning services, music programs, scholarships, movie vouchers/special previews, endless camps for all age groups combined and separate, special outing days, Special Dinners and charity balls, mothers groups, fathers groups, oncology kinder sessions in their main office, cooking classes, school holiday activities, the list is honestly endless.
I cannot express enough how appreciative we are to have such an amazingly generous organisation and truly kind people available to us to not only help bring normalcy to so many families facing such horrible and uncertain times, by covering the mundane/day to day things that end up being all to consuming, to just putting a massive smile on not only the kids in treatments faces but on the faces of every family member by providing memory making moments that make each and every one of us feel so special and seen, just unmeasurable. It truly takes incredible people to do the things that they do.
If you’re ever thinking of giving a donation, this Charity is one of our personal favourites and so so close to our hearts, any donation big or small helps change lives.
