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AUXILIARIES CONTINUE TO GO VIRTUAL With challenges come new opportunities to change and innovate. Faced with the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Auxiliaries have been undeterred in their support for sick children at the RCH, adapting and turning to digital means for fundraising which have resulted in incredible successes.
AUXILIARY HIGHLIGHTS
Auxiliaries Good Friday Appeal Online Fundraising Campaign The 90th Good Friday Appeal was memorable for its historic milestone and staged return to its traditional fundraising events in a COVID-safe way. As Auxiliary fundraising continued to be impacted by the pandemic, an online donation campaign was developed by the RCH Foundation. Utilising emails, SMS and social media, the campaign ran in the lead up to, and on Good Friday, reaching hundreds of thousands of community members across Victoria. Featuring photos of RCH patients captured by the Herald Sun during the Good Friday Appeal, the campaign encouraged donations to help support Auxiliary fundraising and provide the best care for sick children and their families at the RCH. An incredible $214,596 was raised through the online campaign, helping to boost the overall tally for this year’s Good Friday Appeal, which totalled a remarkable $17,122,879.
Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Nursing Development Scholarship Virtual Fundraiser The Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Nursing Development Scholarship is a prestigious scholarship supporting the advancement of nurses at the RCH and is the largest scholarship of its kind at the hospital. Every year, RCH Auxiliaries and the community come together to support this scholarship through a fundraising luncheon. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 2021 event went virtual, with a thought-provoking interactive webinar that celebrated this year’s scholarship recipient Jenny O’Neill. Together with colleagues from the CBC, the audience was presented with a hypothetical hospital scenario, and talked through the tangible impacts that Jenny’s work, supported by the scholarship, will achieve. Donations were encouraged both in the lead up to, and during the virtual event. On the day, 80 guests logged in, a number of whom had organised their own luncheons and were viewing in groups. This wonderful scholarship was also made possible thanks to the event’s Principal Partner, BankVic. Overall, $68,836 was raised to help ensure nurses at the RCH will have the opportunity to excel and advance the care of patients through integrated research for many years to come.
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