News archive — Summer 2008

Vote for Chris and Christie!

The 2009 season of Dancing with the Stars kicked off on 3rd March with Chris Hobbs (aka Shortland Street’s Frank Malone) and dancing partner Kristie Boyd hitting the dance floor in support of Ronald McDonald Houses in New Zealand.

Funds raised from their performances will be distributed between the three Houses in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. So be sure to get your votes in for Chris and Kristie as every cent raised will go towards helping NZ families when their child is seriously ill.

Recently Chris and Kristie paid a special visit to the Auckland House to meet with some of our families. Here they are pictured with Victoria (left) and Hannah (middle) Rhodes-Carlin, a House family from Tauranga who are staying with us while Victoria undergoes radiotherapy.

Our House turns 14!

Fun, food, music and sunshine were all on tap as the House celebrated its 14th birthday on November 2. Families, trustees, staff, Business Club members and supporters all came together for a Sunday afternoon barbeque ‘at home’. Che-Fu and the Crates gave a special live performance much to the delight of guests young and old. CityLife put on another sizzling lunch, a special thanks to Nicole, Lyal and staff as well as all their suppliers who generously donated their time and food for the event (for a full list see thanks and big hugs).

Record year for Family Room

Our Family Room in Starship has been buzzing this year with our 13 crisis care rooms at full occupancy 24/7 and visitor numbers to our day lounge at an all time high — around 3,000 visitors on average through our doors every single month!

Many staff, volunteers, funders and donors have helped keep this special place ticking over throughout the year. Worth a very special mention are Lion Foundation (for funding our 2007 expansion), ASB Community Trust, Portage Trust and East Tamaki Trust for supporting families who stay with us from their communities, Anglican City Mission who provide sustenance for our families, and the Assembly of God (Auckland Korean) Trust for their significant monthly contribution to assist with rising costs due to our increased usage. A special thanks also to all the volunteers who continually cook up a storm with snacks and pre-cooked dinners for families using our Family Room.

All of this support would never come to pass without the sheer passion and commitment of our dedicated Family Room staff. Our Family Room Manager Christine, along with her team — Magda, Lisa, Gemma, Ana, Emily, Lishia and Jamie-Lee.

Street stars come for dinner

Rumours quickly spread about who was to be turning up at the House for dinner one evening recently, as families were left guessing which of NZ’s favourite soap stars would be stopping by.

After a delicious meal prepared by the team from McDonald’s Head Office, Shortland Street stars Ben Mitchell (TK), Faye Smythe (Tania), Te Kohe Tuhaka (Kingi) and Bonnie Soper (Morgan) dropped in to visit families, sign autographs and pose for photos with the families. The celebs also came with toys and books for the children, kindly donated by Fisher Price and Harper Collins. A big thanks to Porter Novelli for arranging this memorable visit.

Breakers on a roll

The Breakers started this season off on a roll and so did our families. For a second season now, each Breakers home game sees one of our long stay families get a special piece of the action thanks to the generosity of Chris Millbank, The Breakers ownership and management and, of course, the team.

“Family is one of our key values at the Breakers, so when Chris Millbank approached us to help make a difference to help make a difference to these families in what must be very worrying and stressful times we were only too happy to help. The smiles on their faces at the games has definitely made it worthwhile,” says Richard Clarke, General Manager, NZ Breakers.

Avondale over 60s join 500 Club

Lisa Kagho recently spoke to the Avondale RSA Over 60’s group meeting. With an attentive crowd, Lisa hit a chord with the 140+ members who were very touched by her stories of families overcoming extraordinary struggles and immediately wanted to help.

With a swift pass around of the hat over $400 was raised on the day, the group also signed up as our newest 500 Club member and intend to do so each year. The group felt its 500 Club membership was an affordable platform for its members to collectively show support for the House on an annual basis.

Like to learn more about joining our 500 Club? See our 500 club page, phone 09 303 1365 or email .

The Mohawk Show ’08 charity auction

NZ paper merchants BJ Ball, in association with international paper merchants Mohawk, hosted the “2008 BJ Ball Mohawk Show’ in Auckland in July. The night showcased art work from Mohawk’s annual international art competitions and this year for the first time, played host to a charity auction. Local artists donated personal artwork, paintings, sculptures and jewellery with proceeds going to all three Ronald McDonald Houses in New Zealand.

Over $2200 was raised for the Auckland House, with further shows in the south raising funds for the Wellington and South Island Houses. BJ Ball Marketing Manager Lisa McDougall said they had collaboratively decided on Ronald McDonald Houses as their chosen charity, because “the cause is something that is close to everyone’s hearts.”

Families get crafty

A new addition to the House calendar is our scrapbooking class which happens one Saturday each month. Run by two of our wonderful volunteers, Ceciley Young and Jen Harll, these classes give our House guests (including Mum and Dad) some time out to have fun and be creative. Scrap books, cards, bookmarks — the options are endless and all the scrapbooking materials are kindly donated by Stampin’ Up! NZ

Activities hit jackpot

The NZ Lottery Grants Board has again made our families lives easier by funding our very special volunteer activities, helping to make our House a home. Additional funding for 2008/9 will enable us to better support those families we have to accommodate offsite when our House is full. With the assistance of NZLGB we are now able to dedicate one of our special members of staff to ensuring the wellbeing of these families, along with volunteer support, during their stay.

We are also happy to report that since the NZLGB made our Volunteer Manager, Jessamy, a reality last year we have significantly increased volunteer participation in the House as well as the frequency we are able to provide our shared family dinners to at least twice a week all year!

Taranaki community shows their support

Suzie Keightley-Trigg and her family from New Plymouth stayed with us last year while their son Mason received treatment for a kidney problem. In August Suzie steered a community fundraiser through Vogeltown School, which her children attend, and through local businesses. The Taranaki community responded with a huge supply of food items, toys, books, games and petrol vouchers for our families, plus a giant hand made card from the students of Vogeltown School.

A special thank you to local artist and friend of Suzie’s, Jayeta Valentine, who donated a stunning ‘Naki’ painting to the House — which has taken pride of place beside our reception area, giving all our Taranaki families a little piece of home to admire.

Southern Stars annual phone appeal

Southern Stars Charitable Trust began its fourth annual telephone fundraising campaign for Ronald McDonald House Auckland on September 15, running through until November 7 2008.

Each year Southern Stars hold a show for children who don’t often get the chance to access live theatre or cultural events, approaching businesses and individuals to pay for their seats, with a percentage of their donation going towards supporting our families.

Three performances of a Christmas-inspired children’s pantomime will take place at the Logan Campbell Centre in Auckland on Saturday November 29.

This campaign is commissioned by the Rotary Club of Downtown Auckland, one of our key trust partners, for the benefit of Ronald McDonald House Auckland and disadvantaged children.

To find out more about the work of Southern Stars please visit their website — www.southernstars.org.nz

Global Culture gives Houses a helping hand

Global Culture and Ronald McDonald Houses in NZ have launched a joint venture to give less fortunate kids and their families a helping hand.

Global Culture is a NZ-owned company that sells fantastic t-shirts and casual wear featuring innovative designs of New Zealand’s environment, culture and art.

From September, $2 from every kids’ Global tee sold will go to the Ronald McDonald Houses in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

So give your kids something they will wear with pride — a t-shirt that reflects an active and creative kiwi attitude and at the same time supports families with children that require hospital treatment in NZ …let’s get in behind them!

T-shirts can be purchased online by visiting www.globalculture.co.nz or by visiting any participating Global Culture store in Christchurch, Auckland, Queenstown or Nelson. What a great gift idea for Christmas!

Many volunteer hands make light work

Thanks to funds from the Lady Joyce Fisher Trust, the House was able to purchase 17 new double beds, which arrived on the 21st of August.

What might have otherwise been a logistical nightmare was made easy with the help of six marvelous volunteers from McDonald’s Head Office. Lauren, Carol, Donna, Tracy, Kate and Thonia spent the day helping our housekeeping staff dismantle the old beds, make up the new ones and vacuum rooms so the whole task was completed quickly and efficiently, causing minimal disruption to our families.

A big thank you ladies for all your wonderful help.

House families get red carpet treatment

On a Saturday afternoon in August House families were treated to a VIP movie screening of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian thanks to House supporters, Tom and Stephanie Cashen. The Cashens were the lucky winners of a private screening of the film and kindly chose to donate it to the House for families to enjoy.

All 39 family members jumped onboard a chartered bus and drove to their own private movie theatre in central Auckland where they were treated to the screening of Prince Caspian. Along with the Cashen family, special guest film director Andrew Adamson was also in attendance with his young daughter. Andrew directed Prince Caspian, along with the first Narnia Chronicle The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and childrens’ favourites, Shrek 1, 2 and 3.

Andrew opened the movie with a short introduction and answered a few questions from the audience. One family member even asked if he required any actors for his next film and whether she could audition on the spot! While the movie was rolling Andrew quietly snuck off to sign posters he had kindly brought in along with other Narnia merchandise for the kids.

An action packed movie from start to finish, Prince Caspian was enjoyed by adults and kids alike (with a few kids covering their eyes during some of the scary scenes!). Families were also treated to movie snacks throughout. Drawing to a close, everyone said their goodbyes and piled onto the bus and headed back to the House.

Big thanks to the Cashen family, also to Vicki, Jeremy and Peter Healey who arranged for Andrew Adamson to attend.

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