Actor George Kapiniaris with Janis Mohan-Ram and her daughters Nikhita (9) and Aamani (5) and their cousin Claire Mohan-Ram (8). Picture: Tricia Watkinson.
Source: News Corp Australia
GENEROUS South Australians opened their hearts and wallets to support the best possible care, equipment and research for children by supporting the landmark TeamKids Easter Appeal.
The telethon aimed to raise an ambitious $2 million on Sunday to support the Women’s and Children’s Hospital — it smashed this target shortly before 4pm with still an hour of the gala broadcast to go.
When the broadcast finished at 5pm an extraordinary $2,233,690.50 had been donated, all of which will go to support the WCH.
Women’s and Children’s Hospital Foundation chief executive Sam Tolley was humbled by the support.
“I’d like to thank all the sponsors and the whole community for getting behind this,” he said.
Channel’s 9’s Kevin Crease Studio was remodelled into a loungeroom-type setting as dozens of volunteer celebrities, entertainers and sportspeople performed and manned the phones.
WCH staff and families helped by the hospital also took calls during the 10.30am-5pm broadcast with a studio audience, including families who have spent time at the WCH. Children such as three-year-old Amber Lindner, of Mt Gambier, whose parents were told to prepare for her funeral when treatment initially failed, are among thousands who will benefit from such generosity.
Diagnosed with a stomach cancer tumour in December and flown from Mt Gambier to the WCH, she failed to respond to chemotherapy and her parents Jess and Daniel were told to prepare for the worst.
On New Year’s Eve she was given one last dose of chemotherapy — she responded well, has had five more cycles and now faces a stem cell transplant, an operation and radiotherapy.
“We’ve been through anger, hurt, fear and hope – it got to a point we were told by the ICU to consider planning her funeral,” Mrs Lindner said. “We still have a long way to go but doctors are happy with her progress. She is now an outpatient; she is our miracle baby.”
Their story was one of many when hope was the order of the day and the TV audience saw the event trending heavily on social media.
The broadcast started with Justice Crew turning on a party performance followed by a parade of entertainers, though few could match the flamboyant Advertiser and Sunday Mail gossip columnist Matt Gilbertson’s interviews with stars.
The real stars of the show were the children and their families. Sick but smiling children, grateful parents who could not hold back the tears, older children who have recovered from near death experiences — all had a compelling tale to tell.
Mrs Agatha Cooper of Myrtle Bank is pinning her hopes on WCH experts as her daughter Sarah, 12, fights brain cancer. “She has had radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and in January had a 30 hour operation over two days — it is a tough journey and we are grateful to the WCH,” she said.
Volunteer hosts included Lisa Wilkinson, Ross Greenwood,, Richard Wilkins, Sylvia Jeffreys, Brenton Ragless, Kate Collins, Matt Gilbertson, Kym Dillon and Warren Tredrea.
Performers included Eddie Perfect, Tim Campbell, Raymond Crowe, Rhonda Burchmore, Anthony Callea, Anne Wills and Bob Downe.
Big hearted celebs and sports stars manned the phones as credit card donations poured in. These included Poh Ling Yeow, Jeremy Cordeaux, Michala Banas, Eugene Galekovic, George Kapiniaris, Peter Goers, Daniel Talia, Travis Boak, Matthew Lobbe and Stephen Rowe. UK comedian Matt Lucas sent a televised message of support.
Top donors were Rossdale Homes/Lanser Communities with $505,000, SA Government $400,000, Friends of WCH $265,000, The Advertiser/Sunday Mail $100,000 and Telstra $84,000.
South Australians get behind the TeamKids Easter Appeal for the Women’s and Children’s Hospital
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