Thanks to our remarkable community, over $100,000 was raised for The Prince Charles Hospital’s Children’s Services through our 2024 Giving Day.
This is outstanding, and we are so grateful to everyone who contributed to this achievement!
Funds raised will help expand the hospital’s invaluable Child Life Therapy program, which currently assists thousands of children and their families who visit the hospital in their time of need.
That means more children will be able to experience this important service, and more staff can benefit from the program’s positive flow-on effects. Did you know that The Prince Charles Hospital was the first public hospital in Queensland to have access to this service?
Whether you donated or helped spread the word, everyone at The Prince Charles Hospital and the Foundation is incredibly grateful for your support.
The Prince Charles Hospital’s 2024 Giving Day
Giving Day is a fantastic festival-style event that raises funds and brings the hospital community together to celebrate the dedicated and compassionate staff who care for patients and their families.
This year’s event was the fourth annual Giving Day, and it was full of colour and brought joy and smiles to staff and hospital visitors, as well as many of the sick and injured kids in the paediatric ward and ED.
A group of children from the on-site childcare centre also dropped by to delight in the fun.
This year, we had a visit from Dora the Explora thanks to Village Roadshow, who toured the kid’s ward and the emergency department, saying hello to many adoring fans. She was joined by firefighters from the local station, who were also a big hit.
For the third year in a row, we held a market next to the Giving Day hub. It gave staff the chance to stock up on early Christmas presents, including pet treats, quilted items, jewellery, jams and chutneys, and much more, with all vendors making a contribution from their sales to support fundraising efforts.
About the Child Life Therapy Program at TPCH
This position was introduced as a pilot program in 2022. It was initially funded through The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation and its initiative, The Common Good, thanks to the Hospitals United for Sick Kids initiative (formerly Curing Homesickness) and its major partner Coles. In 2023, the Child Life Therapist became a permanent position within the Children’s Services at TPCH.
In the last financial year alone, there were close to 33,000 emergency presentations to the hospital’s Children’s Emergency Department. Of those, the Child Life Therapist assisted approximately 2,000 children—63% under the age of six.
Benefits of Child Life Therapy include reducing stress and anxiety for children and families in hospital, supporting the long-term well-being of children and enhancing family engagement during a child’s care.
This program reduces stress and anxiety for children and improves their emotional coping, so there’s less need for sedation. This means the children don’t have to stay in hospital as long, so they have a better experience, and inevitably, we can help more children who need emergency care.
Dr David Wood,
Clinical Director of TPCH Children’s Emergency Department
Giving Day a success thanks to our amazing community
Thank you so much to everyone who was part of our Giving Day, it’s because of you that a second Child Life Therapist role can be brought into the hospital!
The Foundation would like to acknowledge our matched funding partners including Matland Group, Unita, Kwik Copy, Findex, Perpetual Limited, Spick and Span Cleaning Services, and Val Skelton, whose kind donations doubled the impact of public donations.
There were a number of wonderful community members and businesses who got behind the cause with various fundraising initiatives including The Gibson, Aspley Hornets, St Dympna’s OSCH, Muscle Garden, Mitchelton State High School, St Kieran’s Primary School, Mount Alvernia College and Flytterbys Childcare.
Over 30 community and corporate volunteers also joined us on the day including representatives from Coca Cola, Headbox, NAB, and Telstra. From decorating and setting up for the event, to calling our wonderful donors – many hands make light work! Interested in volunteering with The Common Good? You can find out more information here.
We’re also incredibly grateful to a number of partners who generously donated products and services in kind, including Merlo, Asahi, Bidfood, Lactalis, CCEP, Superior Foods and Village Roadshow.
It takes so many people to make Giving Day a success, and we are so grateful to every single person who supported this meaningful cause.
From the bottom of our hearts – THANK YOU to each and every one of you!
