On Thursday 6 June we celebrated Sydney Sick Kids Day, a highlight of Sydney Sick Kids Appeal, and what a day it was! Thanks to the generosity of our Movement of Many, we raised an incredible $8.3 million and counting to fund world-class treatment, research and experiences for sick kids across the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, comprising Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Bear Cottage, NETS and Kids Research.  

With celebrations across both Children’s Hospitals in Sydney, giveaways to staff, patients and families across the entire Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, a community activation in Parramatta and a donation takeover at all the major CBD train stations, this year's Sydney Sick Kids Day was the largest to date, helping press play on childhood for sick kids across NSW and beyond. 

Thanks to our generous partners at Dashing and BIC, we brought activities to patients across The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick to help them feel like kids first and patients second. Today was also a day to appreciate the staff who work tirelessly to diagnose, treat and care for kids in hospital, and thanks to Lindt, Santa Vittoria and Health Lab, we were able to provide them with tasty treats to say thank you.  

We celebrated outside of the hospitals with a community activation in Centenary Square, Parramatta, where we invited our Movement of Many to join us in going all in for kids’ health. There were alpaca kisses provided by Alpaca People, a spin to win competition with prizes from the Sydney Swans, Western Sydney Wanderers, Menulog and Bay Vista, a silent disco provided by Silent Sounds, as well as plenty of good vibes!  

SCHF's Stream Team also joined us in celebrating Sydney Sick Kids Day this year. Creators NJhighways, SupaMario and Giovztharipper, in partnership with Fujifilm, livestreamed their Amazing Race across the city – cracking codes, completing challenges and raising funds along the way. As no epic challenge should go unrewarded, the creators finished the race with a kiss from an alpaca at Centenary Square, Parramatta. 

Channel 7, our media partners for the Sydney Sick Kids Appeal, were on-hand all day to capture the key moments at both hospitals and Parramatta, finishing the day at Accor Stadium. In a stunning end to Sydney Sick Kids Day, the stadium was illuminated in our iconic SCHF purple, thanks to VenuesNSW, as our CEO Kristina Keneally announced the final total raised thanks to the generosity of our Movement of Many.  

While the day was full of fun, raising $8.3 million for sick kids also means that children like Ella can have access to the best care possible, no matter where, no matter what.  

Nine-month-old Ella was born with a rare condition called epidermolysis bullosa (EB), which causes layers of skin to peel and blister at any friction. Ella’s condition is extremely painful and means her parents spend hours every day looking after her wounds. Donations to SCHF support an EB Clinical Nurse Coordinator, meaning that families managing this difficult condition can have access to specialised medical care. Thank you to our Movement of Many for coming together this Sydney Sick Kids Day to have such an incredible impact on kids’ health.  

While Sydney Sick Kids Day has wrapped up, the celebrations continue on Sunday 9 June, with our partner in Kids' Health, the Sydney Swans dedicating their match against the Geelong Cats to raising funds and awareness for SCHF.  

With three weeks left until the end of Sydney Sick Kids Appeal, there is still time for our Movement of Many to go all in for kids’ health. Make a tax-deductible donation today and help us press play on the childhood of sick kids.