Sick Kids Spoilt By The Spirit Of Giving

By Dan Hutton on January 21, 2011 in

In late December, the annual Christmas Presents for Sick Kids charity drive was held at the Charing Cross Hotel.

Over one hundred people turned out on the afternoon of Sunday, December 19 to enjoy a pre-Christmas drink and donate a gift or two to a child unlucky enough to be spending the Christmas period in hospital.

Now in its third year, Christmas Presents for Sick Kids organisers were hoping to achieve more than double the 496 presents donated last year and eclipse the magical 1000 present mark.

Unfortunately, despite strong community support, it was just not to be this year and the final tally fell just shy of the anticipated thousand. Still, an impressive total of 859 presents were donated to the cause, 696 in Sydney and 163 in Melbourne (the first year in the southern city), a whopping 363 presents more than last year’s effort.

All 859 presents donated by members of the local community were distributed between the Westmead and the Sydney Children’s Hospitals in the week before Christmas and according to all reports they put a smile on many a sick child’s face.

A large number of the gifts donated came from readers of The Beast who read about the event in the December edition and decided to get behind it. So thanks to all of those people who chose to get into the spirit of giving.

Organiser Mal Ward also wished to thank everyone who donated or helped out on the day, particularly the gift-wrapping team, the load-out crew, Nick Andrews and his band and the team at the Charing Cross Hotel.

The event is held in honour of the life of Jonno Anders Ward, who passed away in 2008 at the age of nine after a long battle with childhood liver disease.