Drink, eat and play with friends and family, all in the name of babies
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Not many of us need an excuse to eat or drink with friends, but when you can do both in the name of charity for babies…
The Newborn Intensive Care Foundation (NICF) is dedicated to providing care for the ACT and Southern NSW’s critically ill bubs in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Canberra Hospital. But they can’t do this vital work without medical equipment, research and nurse education. That’s where you come in.
Bubbles for Babies is a new fundraising initiative launched by NICF Chairman Peter Cursley, which will run for the month of April. The concept is simple – fundraisers simply choose an event that involves bubbles of some description (Champagne! Blowing bubbles!) and pass the hat around.
Peter says he got the idea from the Simpson Special Care Nursery in Edinburgh, who have their own Bubbles for Babies event as a lady’s luncheon.
“Being a one-man band, I hate organising events, so I’ve sort of taken the concept and basically put it in someone else’s hands to organise their own events.”
A Bubbles for Babies fundraising event can take place at home, at work, in a park – just about anywhere. Funds can be raised by charging an entry fee, raising coins through party games or just a good old fashioned donations box.
Funds raised will go towards obtaining an Electro Cardio Graph (ECG) machine for NICU at Canberra Hospital. An ECG machine is a vital part of the NICU as it monitors a baby’s heart.
“At the moment, the unit has to borrow one from another unit, so more often than not its already being used, and you have to wait and so forth,” explains Peter. “If they can have their own it will just make everything a lot more efficient.”
The benefits of NICU having its own ECG machine are immense.
“If you can give optimal care at that young age you can save all sorts of issues that can develop down the track,” says Peter. “For instance, it could be blindness, there can be lung issues, it can be brain damage. There could be a whole rafter of problems that develop which means as the baby gets older they could possibly be reliant on welfare down the track.”
Bubbles for Babies is just the latest of the NICF’s successful fundraising events, with the Foundation’s assistance elevating Canberra’s NICU to one of the best in Australia.
“According to Professor Graham Reynolds, who was the Assistant Dean at the Australian National University, the funds that the Newborn Intensive Care Foundation has raised and the equipment that’s purchased means that the [Canberra Hospital] unit leads the country in a lot of areas of clinical care and family support,” says Peter.
So, let’s propose a toast to saving lives. Get your friends and family together and put on your own Bubbles for Babies event. Cheers!
the essentials
What: Bubbles for Babies
When: During April 2019
Where: Wherever you like!
Ways to get involved: Host an event with friends or family, support friends and family by attending their events and most importantly, donate!
Website: newborn.org.au/bubbles-for-babies
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