At the Children’s Hospital Foundation, we understand sickness can be isolating. That’s why this tax time, we’re calling on Queenslanders to help us make hospital feel more like home for sick Queensland kids.
Whether it’s a $2 or $200 donation, every contribution supports vital on the ground programs – from bedside play, Book Bunker and Kidzone – to bring joy and distraction to young patients.
Every day, children from across Queensland, northern New South Wales and the Northern Territory travel to Queensland Children’s Hospital for urgent medical care. One in three patients come from outside Greater Brisbane – far from home and support.
This is the reality for kids like Georgia, who after a few days old was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome – a rare heart condition in which the heart is undeveloped.
Instead of her parents getting to take her home and settle into newborn life, her family left their home in Townsville and relocated to Brisbane so she could receive the life saving treatment she needed at Queensland Children’s Hospital.
For many young patients and their families, it feels like being dropped into an entirely another world. Suddenly, the familiar rhythms of everyday life shift, the routines that once gave structure – work schedules, school days and family dinners – are disrupted.
Georgia’s story
Through the support of the Children’s Hospital Foundation, Georgia and her family found a piece of home during their 169 days in hospital.
She discovered the calming embrace of music therapy to soothe her anxiety, enjoyed playful moments with our toys and friendly staff and was introduced to the Book Bunker – finding stories that offered her and her sister, Emilia, welcoming escapes and a sense of normalcy.
“Georgia’s story is one of strength and survival,” said Lyndsey Rice, Children’s Hospital Foundation CEO.
“But it’s also a reminder that for so many families, hospital becomes home and that every donation received allows the Foundation to wrap sick kids in the warmth of community and care, allowing them and their families to focus on getting home sooner.”
For Georgia’s mum Larissa, the Foundation’s support meant more than comfort, it was a lifeline during the most terrifying moments of her daughter’s journey.
“The hospital saved our daughter, but Children’s Hospital Foundation saved us,” said Larissa, Georgia’s mum.
“There was a point we were told Georgia might not make it. The support we received during those moments – when we could hardly function – meant everything. From the therapies that soothed her, to the spaces like Kidzone that brought joy to her big sister Emilia, we were able to focus wholly on Georgia”.
“I’ll never stop being grateful for the support services the Foundation offered that made hospital feel more like home.”
Be a part of the campaign
This tax time, deductible donations to the Children’s Hospital Foundation will fund critical services like play services, music therapy, a library, toy drives and more, helping hospital feel more like home for sick Queensland kids. For more information on what this looks like in action, visit our YouTube page here.
We would also like to invite our incredible community to reflect on what home means to you and upload your own drawing of home to the Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Virtual Gallery. By uploading a drawing and message of support, you can help surround sick and injured children with love, colour and care.
The difference that shapes their world
Through supporting the Children’s Hospital Foundation, you can improve childhoods and ensure all children and young people have access to treatment - sooner.
