Let’s Give Some More This Christmas

By Sarah Healey on December 11, 2013 in News

While parents are pressured into forking out hundreds of dollars to ensure Santa satisfies their children’s wish list and Gen Y revellers are up in arms about which designer labels to don at the seemingly endless number of festive parties they must attend, there are countless sick kids who will be doing it pretty tough in hospital on arguably the most anticipated day of the year.

If you feel that Christmas has somehow lost its meaning, head to the Coogee Bay Hotel on Sunday, December 15 from 2pm onwards (upstairs in the function room), when Mal Ward will be hosting his 6th Annual Christmas Presents for Sick Kids in loving memory of his son Johnno Anders Ward. This year Mal decided it was time for a venue change, relocating from the Charing Cross Hotel to the Coogee Bay Hotel.

“The Cheung family who own the Coogee Bay Hotel have always been such generous donators to the Forever Johnno night we hold in May, and they’re always willing to give, so it was an easy decision,” Mal said.

To make the afternoon a roaring success, get down to the Coogee Bay Hotel with as many presents as you can possibly carry (marked with age and gender) and place them under the Christmas tree. These presents will be donated to the children at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick and Westmead Children’s hospital by Mal and his helpers the very next day.

There’ll be loads of fun activities for the kids (face painting and a special appearance from Santa himself), a free barbecue and music by Nick Andrews and Friends. If you don’t have time to wrap your gifts, there’ll be a free wrapping station provided, and Mal is always after volunteers to help put the sticky tape on properly. Last year over 1350 presents were donated and Mal’s hoping the community can top that this year.

If you can’t make it on the night, Mal is always in need of a loading crew to ship the gifts off to the hospitals the next morning. For more information please call Mal Ward on 0414 293 396.