Monthly Archives: July 2014

Royal Australian Air Force Visits Mater Children’s Hospital

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The Mater Children’s Hospital enjoyed another visit from the Royal Australian Air Force on Wednesday night! The children and their families enjoyed a showering of free gifts including posters, key rings, stickers and a build-your-own-fighter jet!

A lot of fun was also had trying on an actual flight helmet and talking about all of the cool stuff the pilots get up to. We have no doubt that we now have many budding young pilot enthusiasts.

The RAAF are becoming a regular special guest at Radio Lollipop at the Mater Children’s Hospital and are proving to be very popular with the kids, parents and volunteers alike.

Radio Lollipop NZ Receive $30,000 From The Round The Bays Run & Fairfax Media

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Source Stuff.co.nz

Thank you Auckland.

That’s the word  to all those who registered for this year’s Ports of Auckland Round the Bays and helped raise $150,000 for various charities.

The annual fun run and walk is a joint collaboration between  Fairfax Media, publisher of this paper and the Auckland Joggers Club.

Benefiting charities gathering for a presentation of cheques this month include:

The Hearing House ($28,000), Crohn’s and Colitis New Zealand ($25,000), Auckland Cystic Fibrosis ($15,000), Raukatauri Music Trust ($11,000), Kidsline ($26,000), Radio Lollipop ($30,000) and Fairfax First Books ($15,000).

A further $84,000 raised online through Everyday Hero donation pages is  going to other charities across New Zealand. Fairfax Media managing director Simon Tong says nearly 34,000 registered runners, including almost 1000 teams, took part in this year’s event.

“In the past 10 years, Ports of Auckland Round the Bays has enabled Fairfax Media to donate more than $1.5 million to a number of charitable causes supporting the health, well-being and development of Auckland’s children,” he said.

“After reviewing some of the projects these latest  funds will go towards, it is a pleasure to hand over these cheques.”

THE CHARITIES

Radio Lollipop

“The funds raised through Round the Bays will be used for new equipment for the in-house Radio Lollipop studio in our main branch at Starship Hospital. We broadcast live programmes to children in their rooms and in the atrium. Children can join the activities – requesting songs, listening to stories and jokes, participating in competitions, listening to music, winning prizes and having fun! This service normalises the hospital experience by giving children and young people something to do that is not related to being ill.” – Lorraine Andrewes

Crohns & Colitis

“Camp Adair will be the first Crohn’s Colitis New Zealand (CCNZ) event of its kind for kiwi kids with IBD.  It provides an opportunity for chronically ill children to experience fun and laughter with their peers, while in a space of understanding, support and patient specific care. CCNZ is grateful for the support from Fairfax Media and Ports of Auckland, who have enabled this dream to become a reality.” – Brian Poole

Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre

“In May this year, the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre reached a new milestone, providing music therapy sessions to 217 clients every week. The funds from the 2014 Ports of Auckland Round The Bays event will enable us to offer another ten children from low socio economic households, subsided music therapy sessions for six months.  Two of these children are on our waiting list and they will now be able to start music therapy sessions in the next few weeks.” – Carol White

The Hearing House

“Deaf children in the upper North Island will benefit from the $28,000 received from the Ports of Auckland Round the Bays fun run. Proceeds will fund a tympanometer and an audiometer in The Hearing House’s planned new premises. These are vital pieces of equipment to help check the health of the ears, diagnose and measure hearing loss in children and to detect different levels of hearing loss. They will help transform the lives of deaf children” – Mary Jane Boland

Cystic Fibrosis

“The $15,000 grant will provide exercise allowances to people with CF in Auckland. Exercise is vitally important as it helps to increase lung function. The Round the Bays run itself got our CF community out and exercising along with their friends and families. A great day was had and a further $15,000 was raised through Everyday Hero online fundraising.” – Wendy Edmondson

Kidsline

“The support of Ports of Auckland will make a tremendous difference to the kids who reach out to Kidsline, by allowing us to train even more Buddies.  Buddies are amazing year 12 and 13 student volunteers, and the training they receive not only allows them to help the kids who call us, but equips them with skills they can take with them into the community once their time at Kidsline has passed.” – Jo Denvir

– Stuff

Original article can be found on this link

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10256619/Auckland-runners-raise-150k-for-charity

Our Inca Trail Crusaders Need Your Help!

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The team from Radio Lollipop NZ are determined to raise funds for their new world class studios at Starship Hospital with a fundraiser that takes them to the other side of the world.

Two Radio Lollipop NZ board members Lorraine Andrewes, Susy Bell, and three dedicated Radio Lollipop supporters are off on an adventure to Peru to conquer the trek to Machu Picchu. This endeavour will require the team to be up and running from 5am each morning over five days to make the gruelling trek. Considering most of the team have not seen exercise on the weekly basis for a considerable time it could have posed a problem or two… so,  a regime of early morning starts, walking to work and a demanding fitness a schedule has ensured the team are ready for action!

So far the ‘self funded’ challenge has seen all proceeds from this event go directly back to the Radio Lollipop cause. This includes all travel, accommodation and food costs for the journey. Any additional support from this adventure will also go directly to Radio Lollipop New Zealand to help with the construction, equipment, furniture and running costs of the new studio at Starship.

“I am fundraising to support Radio Lollipop – a very worthy cause that supports kids in hospital. It’s a challenge but one I hope to complete even though I am secretly a wee bit scared. The kids in hospital face far greater challenges than this and often for longer periods of time,” says Lorraine.

Lorraine’s determination comes from a letter from a past parent who wrote about her son’s experience with Radio Lollipop. She writes, “When I lived in Whangarei I would drive down to be with him on my days off. Often I had worked night shift and would be driving down after having a sleep.

He would send a text, “Where r u. We will b late 4 radio lollipop”.

 He didn’t want to be late as he wanted to see “those hot babes” or else they would have gone to the wards. Sometimes he could only stay a few minutes and then go back to bed. Other times he would try to get you to play his Scribe CD but it was banned as it contained coarse language. He was really excited to find an edited CD of Scribe in a music store. Of course I had to buy it!

He couldn’t wait to turn 13 so he could go to the teen lounge and basked in the attention. He would always be disappointed if he was discharged before Thursday and would miss the teen lounge.

On the occasions when he was too sick to come downstairs he was delighted when the lollipop volunteers came to his room bringing games and a friendly smile. He would ask them if they had any pipe cleaners. I once asked him what he wanted pipe cleaners for. “Mind your own business”’ he said. Then he would tell me to “make a flower.” I couldn’t twist the pipe cleaners into the shape of a flower so we would have to get help doing it. He wanted to make a flower for his favourite nurse.

On the anniversary of his death I took pipe cleaners into work and got my workmates to make flowers, which I put on his grave. I have wanted to write a letter to you at Radio Lollipop to say thanks for making such a difference in his life and giving him some excitement and joy during times when he was very sick and in lots of pain. I have been collecting lollipops to make a bouquet each year on the anniversary it was too hard and I was too sad to do it. On his 5th anniversary I took pipe cleaners into work again and my workmates made flowers for Radio Lollipop. I have now been able to celebrate Jacob’s 21st birthday by making this bouquet of lollipops and flowers for you. I think he would approve.”

The team travel from 1 – 16 September, 2014.

All funds raised will enable Radio Lollipop’s Starship branch to connect and broadcast to other smaller branches in Whangarei, Waitakere, Kidz First and the SuperClinic where a full size studio is not viable.

Help us make the time kids spend in hospital just a little bit easier and be part of something special.

To make a donation please go to www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/togettothetop

Give a Little will automatically send you a receipt for your donation.

Thanks for your time