The Royal Children's Hospital Foundation Melbourne

Merry Christmas! ✨🎄 This holiday season, Alex and Mark are filled with gratitude as they celebrate Christmas with their precious daughter, Sammi, surrounded by family. This is only possible because of the life-saving care Sammi received at The Royal Children's Hospital, and the incredible generosity of our supportive community of donors. Your donations make moments like this possible. Wishing all our supporters a season of love, joy, and hope! ✨🎁

No child wants to be in hospital at Christmas. Every year, doctors, nurses, and clinicians at The Royal Children's Hospital work tirelessly to ensure as many patients as possible can be at home with their families. But for those who do need to spend the holidays in hospital, the RCH becomes a magical place, filled with festive cheer and a sense of wonder. We are so grateful to everyone who helps make this possible – from the supporters who donate gifts for the kids, and the nine-metre high Christmas tree on Main Street, to the nurses and staff who decorate the wards and hand out presents... You help us create these special moments and bring Christmas joy to children who need it most. Thank you for making this season brighter for so many. 💖🎄

As we wrap up 2024, we want to take a moment to extend our heartfelt thanks to our incredible community of supporters and donors. 💙 Because of YOU, we've been able to make a lasting impact, distributing $61.3 million in support of over 200 projects at the Melbourne's Children's Campus! Your generosity is transforming the lives of children like Sammi, Jacob, Olivia, Fraser, Maggie, Ivan, and so many others. Thank you for brightening their futures and giving them the opportunities they deserve. Here's to an even brighter 2025! 🌟 Please note: Our offices will close at midday on Tuesday 24 December 2024, and reopen on Thursday 2 January 2025.

Almost three quarters of adolescents in Australia experience clinically significant depression or anxiety symptoms, with most being chronic, according to a new study. And preventive strategies outside our clinics are urgently required to address this considerable public health problem facing the nation.   The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), found mental health problems were frequently chronic with 64 per cent reporting symptoms three or more times across their adolescent years.    MCRI Professor Susan Sawyer said that despite growing concerns about adolescent mental health, until now, few studies had comprehensively charted the course of common mental disorders across this key life stage.   “To our knowledge, this longitudinal study shows the highest cumulative incidence of clinically significant symptoms of common mental disorders that has ever been reported across adolescence from any country,” she said.   Read more: https://direc.to/m7AB   #ChildHealth #MedicalResearch #MentalHealth The Royal Children's Hospital Foundation Melbourne Centre for Adolescent Health

Last Friday, our team came together to celebrate a year of hard work, growth, and collaboration at our annual Christmas Party 🎅🏼🎁  From a fun game of Bad Santa to the delicious food and drinks, it was the perfect way to wrap up 2024! A huge thank you to our entire team for their dedication and passion throughout the year. This talented group works hard to advance pediatric healthcare, enabling The Royal Children's Hospital to provide exceptional care for sick children. Here’s to making more memories, achieving new milestones, and continuing to grow our impact in 2025. Wishing everyone a joyful holiday season! ✨🌟

✨ Check out the stunning setup at Rawdon Court, Boronia! ✨  Every year, one of our incredible community fundraisers, Brett, goes all out, decking the halls (and the house!) with spectacular Christmas lights to spread holiday cheer and raise funds for sick kids at The Royal Children's Hospital. 🎄💫  And it's not just Brett — other local fundraisers are joining in on the fun by setting up their own dazzling displays across Victoria in support of sick kids. Check out the locations of all the lights on our events page: https://lnkd.in/g7wwXT5W  What a bright and joyful way to give back this season! ❤️ 

It's not rare to have a rare disease. 🌟 Each year, 1 in 12 babies is born with a rare disease, yet 50 per cent remain undiagnosed. Thanks to philanthropic support, an innovative research program at The Royal Children's Hospital called Rare Diseases Now, or RDNow, is changing that. Dr Michelle de Silva, Program Manager of RDNow, is leading the groundbreaking work that brings hope to kids with undiagnosed genetic conditions. Learn how RDNow is making a difference for families and how you can help expand this vital program: https://lnkd.in/grwWg56J

🎉 Today we celebrate 5 amazing years of Catherine Donaldson at The Royal Children's Hospital Foundation!  Catherine joined our team as a Supporter Relations Officer and displaying a flair for data and detail, she eventually stepped into the Database Officer role.  Since joining the team, Catherine has demonstrated exceptional skills, dedication, and an unwavering commitment to ensuring our data systems run smoothly. She has played a crucial role in keeping our operations efficient and our data secure, and has become a go-to for the best advice on donations and data. 🔐💾 She has seen us through a CRM implementation, integrations with websites and finance systems, all the process changes that lockdowns threw at us, and she is still eager to learn, make our data and systems better, and improve the experience of our wonderful donors.    Thank you, Catherine, for your hard work, reliability, and can-do attitude. We’re grateful for your contributions and look forward to many more years of success together! 🎉👏

🚨 We're seeking a Communications Manager (parental leave cover) to join our team! 🚨 In this role, you'll take the lead in delivering impactful communications and marketing strategies, ensuring high-quality messaging across the public, the Melbourne Children’s campus community, and the RCH Foundation’s network of donors, fundraisers, and supporters. You'll play a key role in enhancing our fundraising efforts and contributing to the life-changing work we do for children’s health. This is a full-time, fixed term role for 13 months. If you're passionate about communications and want to make a difference, we'd love to hear from you! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g7tmJaGr

Thank you to all our supporters who gave generously during our Matched Giving Day. We have raised an incredible $28,004, thanks to the support of Nelson Alexander Real Estate.   Your support helps us provide exceptional care to sick children and young people like Sammi at The Royal Children's Hospital.