Footy raises funds for Leila Rose Foundation
16 Sep 2015
16 September 2015
Our own John Parkinson headed up the SJOG team who competed against AFL legend Mick Malthouse’s Baker’s Delight team.
“Just get out there and have fun for the first three quarters and then win it in the last quarter,” instructed Coach Lewis during the pre-match motivational pep-talk.
“These things always start out fun but with 75 ex-AFL top level footy players, it always becomes competitive”
And it sure did!
St John of God Warrnambool Hospital, John and the Glenrye Centre in particular, have been long-term supporters of the Leila Rose Foundation – a charity started 5 years ago when one of our valuable doctors lost his 19 month old daughter to cancer.
“As a part of our cultural values, our SJOG mental health team decided four years ago that in lieu of Christmas gifts for one another, we’d make a sizeable contribution to a local charity,” explained John Parkinson, manager.
“That charity is the Leila Rose Foundation because it’s a cause we could all identify with.”
The foundation focuses solely on increasing awareness and raising valuable dollars for assisting families living with rare childhood cancers.
A large number of our local caregivers generously gave their Sunday to join around 5,000 locals who enjoyed the delicious hot soup prepared by our hospital kitchen, selling raffle tickets, collecting donations, working as trainers for both teams, forming a guard of honour with a creatively constructed banner for the SJOG team, and capturing photos of the day.
In the wake of the huge success of the community driven Peter’s Project, the Leila Rose Foundation appears to be Warrnambool’s next big project, with around $90,000 raised on the day.
A very emotional half-time ceremony saw a poignant montage of Leila’s life with her mother Tracy’s voice talking about the foundation named after her. Soon after, hundreds of pink balloons were released into the sky, commemorating those touched by childhood cancers.
The match received local and national media coverage in the lead-up to and covering the event, largely driven by our local 3YB/CoastFM radio station and radio announcing captains of both teams, Matty Stewart and Matty Monk.
St John of God Health Services Centre continued its vital role in the players’ recovery when they opened up a hydrotherapy session for all players on 'Mad Monday'.
There were black eyes and bite marks, bruised ribs and pulled muscles, but more than anything, a huge camaraderie and sense of community.
“It’s overwhelming for myself and the small committee who have met weekly for the last 3 months to plan such an event, that the community has responded in such a magnificent way, that everything has been donated from local businesses demonstrates how passionate this community is,” said a proud Dr Andrew Chow, founder of the Leila Rose Foundation