Our community of unstoppable changemakers are the ambitious instigators of an exciting new revolution in kids’ health. Discover how they are giving, volunteering, supporting and fundraising.  

After an unexpected trip to the emergency department with her newborn daughter, Jenny decided to show her appreciation, despite her busy schedule, by volunteering. 

Tell us about yourself and your connection to SCHF? 

My name is Jenny, I live in Sydney and I’ve got a daughter who is seven years old. My connection with the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation goes back to when my daughter was a few weeks old and ended up in Emergency. What the experience taught me was that life is so precious and it does take a group of really amazing people to get you through that.

So, ever since then I wanted to get involved in any way that I can to give back and to really be a part of helping to improve children’s health and the journey that they go through.

I show my support for SCHF through volunteering, which I absolutely love. Knowing that I’m part of something bigger and it’s contributing directly to children’s health by supporting sick kids and their parents, who may be going through a lot of emotional and physical pain means a lot. Through volunteering I get to meet really amazing people and you’re part of a community who are having a positive impact – that personally for me is really rewarding. 

What inspired you to get involved?  

The experience of seeing your child go through any kind of health journey is incredibly hard. Being a new mum, you’ve just had your baby, it’s three weeks in and she’s back in emergency and you have that uncertainty where you’re just not sure what’s going to happen next. That fear of potentially loosing your child, it’s something you don’t want anyone to have to go through. But, the staff are who really got me through it all – they were so dedicated, so caring and reassuring. They really helped me get through it just by showing up every day.

It really made me realise that I wanted to give back to this wonderful cause because I wanted to be able to support others who may be going through it. The hospital does need our support, whether that is through fundraising, or just spreading the message, it all makes a difference during tough times. 

Why are you proud to be a part of SCHF’s Movement of Many? 

I’m proud to be part of the Movement of Many and I strongly encourage anyone, whether you’re busy or not – I work full time and I still make time for this because it’s really important to me. Our children are our future and when we’re going through tough times, we want people to be there for us and we want our children to get the best care! These people are doing great work so I strongly encourage anyone, whether you’ve got  a few hours to spare to really get involved, get behind this cause because it’s truly making a difference to children’s lives. 

Do you have a message to others out there who are thinking of getting involved? 

I know every time I say to myself I’m too busy, I don’t have time and end up volunteering – it’s just the best feeling afterwards because I was able to give back in some shape or form. You don’t need to take it from me, give it a go and you’ll know exactly what I mean!

To find out how you can join our Movement of Many, click here.