Company Community Involvement
Party for Kids With Cancer®
Lorraine Lea Linen established the Party for Kids with Cancer® fund in honour of the company's founder, Peter Ryan, who lost his battle with cancer in 1999. Donations are raised by Lorraine Lea's Australian and New Zealand sales Consultants when they hold linen and manchester parties during a special two-week period each year. In 2009 it will be held from 13th to 31st August. This year's recipient is the onTrac@PeterMac program, based at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Victoria. If you'd like to make a donation, please call your local consultant or contact us to be put in touch with a local Consulant or book a party.
The aim of the cause is to provide much needed additional services and research equipment to major hospitals that specialise in treating children and adolescents with cancer. Donating monies directly to the hospital enables the company to ensure the full amount is spent within the selected hospital to help improve the quality of the patients' everyday lives. Previous recipients of Lorraine Lea Linen's Party for Kids with Cancer® funds include:
| 2008 | Starship Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand | $99,498 |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick | $74,991 |
| 2006 | Mater Hospital, Brisbane | $71,287 |
| 2005 | Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart | $63,312 |
| 2004 | Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, Perth | $64,000 |
| 2003 | The Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide | $23,000 |
| 2002 | The Peter MacCallum Institute, Melbourne | $22,000 |
| 2001 | Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick | $20,200 |
| 2000 | Mater Hospital, Brisbane | $ 8,000 |
| Total Raised | $446,288 | |
The 2008 amount continues our record-breaking tradition. Going to a New Zealand hospital for the first time, the NZ$115,000 raised will be used by Starship to rebuild its cancer unit, specifically the provision of eight single inpatient rooms for pre-teen patients who need the space to recover away from much younger patients. “For the last few years since we have been active in New Zealand, our consultants there have been supporting fundraising for Australian hospitals. With Starship as the recipient this year, our Australian consultants were very pleased to finally be returning the favour,” Adrian Ryan, Lorraine Lea Linen’s Director said at the cheque presentation in Auckland, during which he also competed in an entertaining bed-making competition against actress Lucy Lawless, Xena, Warrior Princess, a patron of Starship.
The $74,991 raised in 2007 has been put to use by Sydney Children’s Hospital on a number of projects to bring long-term improvements in the lives of their young cancer patients and their families. This includes:
- Sponsoring the quarterly Oncology Family Newsletter for 5 years
- The refurbishment of the parent kitchen on the oncology ward
- The balance will be used to purchase Thompson Maxilift Treatment Chairs that allow patients to find a comfortable position during treatment
In thanking Lorraine Lea Linen, the hospital representative wrote, “…your support for the 3 projects will make an enormous difference for the care and treatment of our brave young oncology patients and their families.”
When presenting the cheque, Lorraine Lea Linen CEO Adrian Ryan said, “I am very pleased that the Sydney Children’s Hospital has found a number of worthwhile uses for the donation that will bring benefits on so many levels. The Party for Kids with Cancer® fund is a great example of how simple it can be for business to get actively involved in their community, whether that's on a local, regional or worldwide basis.”
In 2006 the funds were put to use by the Mater Foundation to purchase research equipment to assist in developing a technique to treat children who relapse after receiving a bone marrow transplant following their life-threatening leukaemia diagnosis.
In thanking Lorraine Lea Linen, the executive director wrote, “The Mater Foundation is grateful for this generous contribution. We can assure you that your contribution will directly benefit the children who suffer from leukaemia and the treatment being researched by the Mater Medical Research Institute will make an enormous difference to sick children throughout the world.”
2005’s donation was used by the Royal Hobart Hospital to purchase equipment to enable children with cancer and life-threatening cardiac conditions to be at home with their family. Baby Arkaishia Thow was the first to benefit from a fully mobile, automatic defibrillator that travels with her wherever she goes. Other equipment that is now available to the paediatric ward includes five pulse oximeters for at-home use, five apnoea alarms and one electrocardiograph monitor. See full story from The Mercury newspaper.
In 2004, Lorraine Lea Linen’s contribution funded the painting of several giant magnetic murals on the walls of the adolescent oncology wing at the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. The murals were chosen by the patients and are a welcome distraction from the difficult and painful treatments they must undergo.
Lorraine Lea’s donation to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in 2003 supported the purchase of equipment for the Haematology/Oncology Department. This equipment is crucial in both diagnosing and monitoring childhood leukaemia by detecting leukaemia cells in thin smears of blood and bone marrow.
In 2002, the donation provided four new Tablet PCs and networked internet connections for the Peter MacCallum Institute to enable patients to communicate with friends and family from their hospital beds via chat rooms, messaging programs and email. They are now also able to continue their education by connecting to their education programs.
"This makes a fantastic difference to our patients as many of them are still at school and university. To communicate with their friends, teachers and families will be a great advantage and help overcome the sense of isolation. Many of our patients are here for long, extended stays," said Nurse Unit Manager for Ward 9, Michelle Lane.
At the cheque presentation, Adrian Ryan said, "These state-of-the-art computers are a great way to help de-hospitalise the hospital environment for teenagers. I am very proud to be involved with providing these computers to help long-term patients break the boredom and also keep in touch with their friends when visits to them may decrease after a while."
We invite you to become involved in the Party for Kids with Cancer® cause by hosting a party in August 2009 and contributing part or all of your Host Credits. Cash donations are also much appreciated. Contact your local Lorraine Lea Consultant for more information or contact us at the Support Centre.
