News

Marley 9 Years On

Published: July 1st, 2019

On this day 9 years ago, single mother Kerrin Hampson received the heartbreaking news that her 15-month-old son Marley had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. The news came after Kerrin had enough of doctors telling her that there was nothing wrong with her son, that his lethargy and loss of appetite was caused by a virus that he would just have to ride out.

Kerrin’s mothers’ instinct led her to take Marley to the hospital despite what the doctors had told her.

“I remember it like it was yesterday.” Says Kerrin. “I fed myself, Morris and his sister, made sure they were cared for and then drove to Fremantle ED. The nurse looked at Marley and called the on-call paediatrician straight away. He was quite concerned”

After his diagnosis on 1 July 2010, Marley was taken directly to the children’s hospital by ambulance, being too fragile for Kerrin to drive him herself. The next three years saw Marley undergo intense therapies which left him tired and ill.

His treatment finished in August 2013 but he is still dealing with the side effects to this day. The harsh treatment has left Marley with cognitive and executive functioning issues, needing the help of tutors and occupational therapy.

“9 years later he had a weekend of adventure and friends. He has scars that run deeper than I thought possible, and still struggles but he is here.” Says a grateful Kerrin. “We are lucky. I will band on until the end of time to raise awareness and funding to help kids and their families with support and research.”

Marley continues to be an ambassador for CLCRF and has attended several functions over the years with his mum and brother to help raise awareness for cancer research.

More research is still needed for better outcomes for children with cancer. By donating to CLCRF, you can help us to not only increase the chances of survival, but also fund research into more effective protocols for drug treatment therapy.

Congratulations to the Raffle Winner!

Published: June 28th, 2019

Our ‘Lucky Numbers’ Raffle #48 was drawn today (Friday 28 June). Permit Number: LS211271118. The winning ticket was no. 03127!

The Winner of the $15,000 CASH has now been contacted and is extremely HAPPY! Our next raffle has started and is drawn on 31 October – if you would like to purchase tickets – please ring our Raffle Hotline 1300 139 651 or head to our raffle website.

Thanks to all who supported this raffle and helped raised funds for vital research into childhood cancers.

 

 

Julie Bishop appointed chair of Telethon Kids Institute

Published: June 24th, 2019

Former Foreign Affairs Minister The Hon Julie Bishop has revealed her first project post-politics. Ms Bishop will be the new chair of the Telethon Kids Institute (TKI), taking over from Mr John Langoulant AO who is stepping down in August after 14 years of voluntary service.

Mr Langoulant says he is delighted to be handing over the role to someone of Ms Bishop’s calibre. “Ms Bishop has always been a wonderful supporter of Telethon Kids as our local member and has advocated on our behalf on many issues, including helping us to secure funding for our building and for research initiatives.”

As the biggest fundraiser for TKI and with Ms Bishop having a particular interest in paediatric cancer, this is extremely exciting news for CLCRF and the future of childhood cancer research.

“We’ve got some really big plans for the future.” Says Prof Jonathan Carapetis AM, Director of Telethon Kids Institute. “In chatting to Julie, it’s clear that she is very keen to work alongside me, alongside our 700 staff, to really realise the true potential of this institute.”

Ms Bishop says she is very excited to take on this new position. “I’ve supported [TKI] over many years and this was a great opportunity for me to take on a role in what I believe to be a world-class research organisation.”

We are so thrilled to continue working alongside TKI with Ms Bishop as chair and we can’t wait to see what this means for the future of childhood cancer research.

Gaming for a Good Cause

Published: June 20th, 2019

There are many ways to raise money for a charity – whether it be through events, online donations or workplace giving – but CLCRF supporter Ryan has taken fundraising to the next level, through online gaming.

Since early this year, Ryan has been playing the popular multiplayer game Fortnite under the online alias of ExcessiveRage to raise money and awareness for childhood cancer research. He does this by streaming his gameplay on Twitch, a streaming service widely regarded as the online home for video game enthusiasts. The Twitch audience can watch Ryan play Fortnite live and if they like what they see and want to help him support the cause, they can send a donation through his channel to CLCRF.

Ryan’s decision to turn his online gaming into a fundraising initiative stems from his own personal connection with the cause. “Unfortunately like many others, I’ve seen a family member experience childhood cancer and witnessing the treatment broke my heart.” Says Ryan, “So I figured I had to do something to raise awareness and funds to fight it.”

Ryan got the idea from seeing fundraising efforts by streamers in other countries, some of which have been able to raise huge amounts of funds for charities. In fact, last year at a gaming convention, popular streamer Tyler Blevins (aka Ninja) participated in a charity stream that raised over $2million for a Memphis Children’s Research Hospital.

In Australia this is still a relatively new concept that is yet to reach the same level of popularity as in America or other countries. Ryan is the first online gamer using a streaming service to fundraise for CLCRF and he has already raised an incredible total of $311!

As for the future of Ryan and his fundraising initiatives, he hopes to continue streaming through ExcessiveRage to not only raise funds for CLCRF but to also raise awareness for the need for childhood cancer research. One of Ryan’s future goals is to run a stream lasting several hours in order to hit a goal of $5,000 for CLCRF.

“I get a lot of positive feedback when new people come check out the stream.” Says Ryan. “It’s rewarding.”

We think this form of fundraising is extremely exciting and we couldn’t be more appreciative for the innovative way in which Ryan is helping The Foundation.

If you would like to check out Ryan’s stream and help him raise funds for CLCRF, the best way to keep track of when he goes live is through the following social media channels:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rageexcessive

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ttvexcessiverage

You can find Ryan’s Twitch profile, ExcessiveRage, here: https://www.twitch.tv/excessiverage

Record-breaking amount raised at the 2019 Keep the Flame Alive Quiz Night!

Published: June 17th, 2019

This year’s Keep the Flame Alive Quiz Night was a roaring success, with a total of $17,354 raised for child cancer research! This well and truly smashed last year’s total of $16,000. A fantastic night was had by all and with so many games and giveaways throughout the night, there was hardly anyone who went home empty-handed!

“We had a great turn out for our third quiz night at the Perth Football Club. Everyone had a stimulating night and most went home with either a raffle prize or silent auction items.” Says CEO Andrea Alexander.

The winners of the night came down to a nail-biting tie breaker round between Table 3 and Table 1. A big congratulations to Table 3 who came away with the title! We were so impressed with the amount of smart minds in the room, with about 4 tables finishing very close to the winning score. A shout out to Table 10, who were the wooden-spooners of the night, and walked away with – you guessed it – wooden spoons (and chocolate too of course).

As is the case with any successful event, there are a lot of people we need to thank who helped make it possible. We would firstly like to thank everyone who came along and helped us make the night so memorable. We hope all the attendees had just as much fun participating in the quiz night as we did running it. It was so wonderful to see a packed room full of people coming together to support such an important cause.

A huge thank you to all of the local businesses who supported us with amazing prizes. The night definitely would not have been possible without their generosity. We had a total of 78 silent auction items and 54 raffle prizes on offer!

We would also like to thank the very energetic and entertaining Robbie Figg from the Happiness Co who donated his time for us. Robbie was an excellent MC that had everyone entertained from the very beginning right up until the end of the night. Due to overwhelmingly positive responses, he will definitely be asked to come back again next year!

A huge thank you also goes to the Perth Football Club. This was the third year the club has supported our event by kindly donating their fabulous venue.

Our volunteers also deserve a massive pat on the back for all of their efforts leading up to and during the night. The amazing volunteer team worked tirelessly to put this event together and we are so happy that we can say it has well and truly paid off for CLCRF.

We are still reeling with excitement from the event and overwhelmed by the amount of support we received, with all of our tables selling out a month before the event! We definitely have our work cut out for us next year if we are to smash this year’s total funds raised but we are absolutely up for the challenge!

“Our sincere thanks to all who attended, donated and worked above and beyond to make this night a success.” Says Andrea. “We could not do this without you. Stay tuned for next year’s date!”

South West Bike Trek back for 2019!

Published: June 14th, 2019

After having huge success in previous years, we are so excited for the South West Bike Trek to be back in 2019!

The 2019 South West Bike Trek is set to commence on Sunday 13 October in Subiaco near the Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation office and it will finish in Augusta on Saturday 19 October. The wonderful event has once again been organised by CLCRF member and trek organiser, Eric Maddock, with the help of Lions and Rotary Clubs.

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Kayakers raise $2300 for CLCRF

Published: June 11th, 2019

In the words of Greg Robertson, President of Mo55sKC:

THE Mo55sKC held its annual fundraiser paddling event at Mandurah’s Estuary Bridge foreshore on Monday 29 April. A great launch point with excellent BBQ/picnic facilities; something for paddlers and landlubbers alike!

This year the Yahoo over 55’s Bushwalking Club were invited to participate, and helped swell total involvement to over 70 for the event.

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Local cancer survivor a real role model

Published: June 5th, 2019

If you set your eyes upon this pint-sized pocket rocket today, you could never comprehend the medical struggles she faced at such a young age. Georgia Lowry was born on June 3, 1994 at St John of God Hospital in Subiaco. A younger sister to Grace and a daughter to Ann Marie and Shaun, her birth was the perfect piece of the puzzle for the Mundijong family. However their lives were turned upside down just eight weeks later when Georgia became lethargic and pale.

Blood test results revealed the ugly truth – Georgia had a rare aggressive type of cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, of which less than two per cent of infantile patients survive.

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Volunteers needed for the Perth Tradie Expo

Published: May 27th, 2019

Each year, Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation (Inc.) participates in the Perth Tradie Expo and we are on the lookout for some more volunteers to help collect donations over the weekend. This year, the Expo will take place at the Ascot Racecourse on 21-23 June from 8am to 5pm.

The Expo is proudly sponsored by Toolmart and provides a second to none chance to purchase all types of work equipment from power tools to excavator’s at special Expo prices. There’s not just great savings for work tools but you’ll also find amazing specials on vehicles, camper-trailers, accessories, machinery and much, much more.

The Perth Tradie Expo is open to the General Public and entry is only a Gold Coin donation. These donations are collected by our amazing volunteers and will go towards two charities, including the Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation. Last year, our wonderful volunteers collected a grand total of $5,182.45!

If you are interested in volunteering, you can choose your shift and volunteer as little or as much as you like! Not only will you have the opportunity to experience this wonderful expo but you would also be collecting much-needed funds for CLCRF to continue the important research into childhood cancer.

IMPORTANT INFO:
– To collect donations you need to be at least 16 years of age. If you would like to volunteer with younger children or siblings, there may be other volunteer jobs available for them, such as handing out fliers.

Simply contact the CLCRF office on (08) 9363 7400 or email [email protected] to register yourself as a volunteer!

CLCRF and Crema Coffee Co

Published: May 16th, 2019

Drink a little, help a lot.

Have you had a taste of the CLCRF exclusive coffee blend yet? The Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation have worked together with the wonderful coffee roasters at Crema Coffee Co. to create a unique and special coffee blend. Not only is the blend delicious but proceeds from every bag sold are donated towards continuing the important research into childhood cancer.

The blend is 100% Arabica coffee beans and is roasted for a richer intensity, with great nutty flavours and a milk chocolate finish. So why not make your morning cup of coffee a little more meaningful? The coffee comes in 250g or 1kg bags and can be ordered online, through the Crema Coffee Co. website.

A big thank you to Crema Coffee Co. for collaborating with us! These collaborations help tremendously with increasing the awareness of The Foundation and raising important funds.

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