News

Dr Sébastien Malinge Investigates Resistant Cancer Cells

Published: July 4th, 2018

French scientist, Dr Sébastien Malinge, moved from Paris to Perth six months ago to work as an Ursula Kees Fellow. He now works in a lab funded by the Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation within the Telethon Kids Institute. Sébastien is enjoying his time in Perth and continues his insightful research into better therapies for children who have leukaemia. We interviewed Sébastien on 12 April at the Telethon Kids Institute to learn more about him and his research.

Sébastien’s PhD research in 2006 at the Necker Hospital in Paris was focused on discovering the genetic causes of leukaemia among children with Down’s Syndrome. Sébastien then moved to the United States to complete a post-doctoral fellowship to investigate why children with Down’s Syndrome were at higher risk of developing leukaemia than children without the condition. He moved back to Paris in 2012 to expand on what he studied.

When asked about what receiving the Ursula Kees Fellowship means to him, Sébastien says he feels privileged to receive this position.

“I met Ursula in 2016 when she invited me to present my work at the Telethon Kids Institute.

“I am very proud of having received this fellowship and continue to pursue her legacy. We work towards the same goal of finding better treatments for children with leukaemia.”

Sébastien is currently focusing on building a cohort of preclinical tools to test hypotheses with the view of testing new cancer therapies. He seeks to understand why some children relapse and the reason as to why some cancer cells are resistant to chemotherapy. He hopes that his research will give some clues to develop new therapies targeting therapy-resistant cancer cells and decrease the rate of relapse.

Sébastien believes that funding into cancer research is crucial for discovering better therapies.

“Some of these leukaemia treatments for children are successful but have high toxicity. Therefore, we need funding to find better ways to maximise the well-being of these children not only during but also after chemotherapy.”

Thank you Dr Sébastien Malinge for accepting the Ursula Kees fellowship. We are excited to have you on board and look forward to learning more about your research into finding better therapies for children with leukaemia.

Antonio’s Support for the CLCRF

Published: July 4th, 2018

Antonio Argentieri, a well-known cake decorator from Italy, has been a passionate supporter of the Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation (Inc.) for several years. In 2017 Antonio organised the 19th National Cake Decorating Seminar in Perth and raised funds for the CLCRF with the help of the Cake Decorators Association of WA.

More recently, Antonio has put together a ‘Cooking Charity Show’ on popular Italian television cooking show, ‘La Prova del Cuoco’ in Italy to raise money for the CLCRF. The show will air on 17-18 July at a bistro called Alla Marino in Italian city, Vasto. The show will be streamed live in Australia, Canada and USA from 5.30pm Italian time. Over two days of fun, the show will feature Italian culinary excellence from Antonio, special guests, his friends and other chefs. The CLCRF will feature during the show and viewers across the world will find out more about the Foundation and the great importance of raising funds for world class child cancer research.

When asked about why Antonio has such a heart for funding child cancer research, he believes that he did not choose the Foundation but it chose him.

“I did not choose the Foundation but the CLCRF, in a sense, chose me. I have been working with the Cake Kids Therapy group where children who have had difficulties in life are taught how to make and decorate cakes. I ‘fell in love at first sight’ with the CLCRF because I really want to give hope to children suffering from cancer.

“No one can know if among these many suffering children there may be a man or woman who will make the difference and build a hopeful future. Together we can put smiles on children’s faces by giving to the CLCRF.”

The Foundation thanks you for your passionate and invaluable support Antonio! We are deeply touched by your love for children going through such a difficult time and your help in promoting the cause of funding child cancer research in Italy and across the world!

Perth Tradie Expo 2018

Published: June 29th, 2018

Greeted by beautiful weather, the Perth Tradie Expo was held at Ascot Racecourse from Friday 22 June through to Sunday 24 June. It was a great opportunity for tradies and DIY enthusiasts to discover the latest tools and machinery and a great chance to find an end-of-the-financial-year bargain.

Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation (Inc.) were invited to the Expo this year to collect gold coin donations for entry. Our team of wonderful volunteers helped collect entry donations on all three days of the Expo from generous tradies and the public. A grand total of $5,182.45 was raised by the volunteers over the weekend!

A big thank you goes out to Toolmart for inviting the Foundation to collect donations again, the generous tradies who gave and also to our amazing volunteers for giving up their time to collect donations for child cancer research! We are looking forward to returning to the Expo in 2019!

Congratulations to the Raffle Winner!

Published: June 29th, 2018

Our ‘Lucky Numbers’ Raffle #45 (Permit No LS211195618) was drawn on Thursday 28 June. The winning ticket was no. 11147.
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 raise money for vital research into childhood cancers!

Pyjamas & Dancing For Child Cancer Research

Published: June 26th, 2018

In May, the Sharon Biddle School of Dance  held a ‘Pyjama Week’ at the school where kids were invited to wear their pyjamas to all their dance classes and put a gold coin in a tin to raise money for the Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation (Inc.).

At the end of the week, they held a ‘Lights Out Disco’ where kids paid $10 per ticket, which included pizza and a drink. With light-up products to buy, an opportunity to get their nails painted or hair braided, games and lots of dancing, everyone had a blast!

“We’re all very happy with the amount raised and the kids at the studio have had lots of fun,” said Sharon Biddle.

Throughout the week, the school raised an amazing $2,008!

Thank you so much to Sharon and the children of the Sharon Biddle School of Dance for wearing pyjamas and dancing for child cancer research!

We are now a part of the Western Charity Alliance

Published: June 20th, 2018

Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation (Inc.) is excited to be a part of the Western Charity Alliance! The CLCRF and three other charities have united to form the Western Charity Alliance; A charity collective that allows you to support four West Australian charities simultaneously to give more back to your community.

It also allows the Alliance partners to minimise fundraising costs and share the resources required to connect supporters with the impact each charity makes in WA —A unique example of how charities can work together to make a difference.

The Alliance enables community members to jointly purchase raffle tickets supporting all four causes. Find out how it all works in the video.

Buy your Western Charity Alliance raffle tickets here and support child cancer research at: https://wca.auraffles.com.au/purchase-tickets.

$16,000 Raised from the Dance for a Cure Quiz Night!

Published: June 20th, 2018

Our Dance for A Cure Quiz Night on Friday 8 June at Lathlain Function Centre was a phenomenal success and we raised $16,000!

We would like to thank everybody who helped us make it a memorable night!

It was very encouraging to see 50 per cent of the room return from the previous year. Our goal this year was to beat last year’s incredible total of $11,000 raised and we definitely achieved our goal.

The money we raised will go towards funding the Dance for A Cure 2018 event, this year being held in November in Forrest Place.

So many wonderful people gave generously and made the night an event to remember. With a three-way tie for first place coming down to a heads and tails toss and a booming $16,000 raised, it was a fantastic night. Looks like we’ll have our work cut out for us next year after smashing last year’s total!

Please keep an eye out for our official announcement this week of the Dance for A Cure 2018 event, the music, the very special guest dancer and how our Perth dance schools can get involved. If you haven’t joined our closed group head over now to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1805888859706788/?ref=br_rs

Phones for Cancer Research

Published: June 7th, 2018

Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation (Inc.) received a different kind of donation from Westgold Resources Ltd., a top 10 Australian gold producer, recently on Thursday, 31 May. Chris and Danielle from Westgold Resources Ltd donated a large box full of old mobile phones. They were excited to collect these unused phones around their office to be donated to the CLCRF as part of the Aussie Recycling Program (ARP). The ARP donates funds to the Foundation in exchange for receiving old phones.

Not only does this type of giving contribute to child cancer research, but it also stops phones from being placed in landfill and preserves the environment as parts are salvaged and materials can be put back into productive use. Any remaining materials are sent by the ARP for disposal in an environmentally friendly manner with licenced recyclers.

Recently, the CLCRF has been receiving many old phone donations from Perth and even from the Eastern States. Since being associated with the ARP in 2008, the CLCRF has received over $8,000 in donations through the program!

If you or your organisation would like to make a lasting contribution to child cancer research while also helping the environment, why not collect old mobile phones and donate them to the CLCRF?

Give us a call during office hours on (08) 9363 7400 to find out more about donating phones!

$4,443 Raised for Child Cancer Research at HBF Run for a Reason

Published: May 31st, 2018

This year, 20 runners participated in the HBF Run for a Reason on the streets of Perth on 27 May 2018 to raise money for the Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation (Inc.). Over 35,000 participants ran, walked or wheeled their way through the run at the ninth annual HBF Run for a Reason. More than $1 million was raised for WA health charities including the CLCRF.

Collectively, an amazing $4,443 was raised by runners this year for the Foundation. We are proud of everyone who chose to support child cancer research in the run.

Well done to every single runner/walker in the HBF Run for a Reason who raised money for the CLCRF! We could not have achieved this without you. We hope you had fun and look forward to your participation and fundraising efforts next year!

 

Kayakers Fundraise for 20 years

In the words of Greg Robertson, President of Mo55sKC:

Mandurah over 55s Kayak Club (Mo55sKC) held its 20th annual Children’s Leukaemia & Cancer Research Foundation (Inc.) (CLCRF)  paddle event on 23 April.

The Club staged a special selection of paddling options to suit all participants, followed by a riverside barbecue.

Paddlers launched at Murray Bend and chose from 30km, 15km or 10km courses.

Attendees paid an entry fee and participated in raffle draws to raise funds on the day.  Many members unable to attend, or choosing not to paddle, still contributed. Others also donated in-kind for the barbecue lunch so everyone was well fed.

Several Club members are involved in a Book Club and a Craft Club which annually raise funds for CLCRF too.

Consolidating all sources, including Mo55sKC mid-year raffles and members’ direct donations, the total raised for 17/18 was over $2,100.

Mo55sKC will be planning a ‘paddle event with a difference’ next year to celebrate its 21st CLCRF fundraiser. Paddlers and non-paddlers interested in being involved should enquire via [email protected] for details.

We all look forward to April 2019.

 

Photo credit: Robert Wroth

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