Can you help Bake For Babies raise $40,000 to help sick bubs in Canberra Hospital’s NICU?
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What do cakes and babies have in common? They’re the central focus of The Newborn Intensive Care Foundation (NICF)’s Bake for Babies campaign which kicked off this week.
Focused on using bake sales to raise funds for vital equipment in Canberra Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Bake For Babies runs until 31 August with the goal of raising $40,000.
This $40,000 will go towards buying a cooling blanket and a phototherapy blanket for the NICU, both of which are used to improve health outcomes for seriously premature babies.
“In 2020 we had to make our dough stretch. That left us kneading,” says Newborn Intensive Care Foundation’s chairman, Peter Cursley (pictured).
“Enough of the dad jokes. This is all about improving the health outcomes of sick and premature newborn babies.”
Both therapeutic ‘blankets’ are critical to the recovery of NICU’s special patients, providing unique benefits and health outcomes.
Babies who do not cry and breathe at birth may develop a brain injury because of lack of oxygen from lack of blood flow to the brain. Research has shown that cooling babies a few degrees soon after birth decreases brain injury.
Meanwhile, the benefits of the phototherapy blanket are twofold—it helps treat infants who have jaundice and when a baby needs transfer from another hospital it is difficult to give phototherapy during an ambulance transfer with traditional phototherapy equipment. The phototherapy blanket can wrap around a baby to provide this valuable treatment during transit.
During Bake For Babies people are encouraged to bake whatever delicious treats their hearts desire—whether that be cakes, cookies, scones, pizzas, slices or muffins—and sell them in your community, with the proceeds donated to the NICF Bake for Babies account via direct deposit.
You could host a morning tea via donation at work or pop up a stall in your community. Or take a different approach altogether.
“If you are like me and your scones turn out more like ANZAC biscuits, maybe people will sponsor you not to bake,” laughs Peter.
All money raised in the region by the NICF funds medical equipment, research and nurse education to help sick newborn babies of the Canberra region.
Find more information on Bake For Babies and donate to the NICF at www.newborn.org.au
