Give Me 5 For Kids: lifechanging funds for Canberra kids

Posted on 11 June, 2019

You’ve probably heard the name before.

But how much do you really know about Give Me 5 for Kids, the organisation that’s raised more than one million dollars for the Paediatric ward at Canberra Hospital?

Each year, SouthernCross Nine (Channel 9) and Mix106.3FM holds its annual fundraiser, Give Me 5 for Kids, which has been supporting and raising funds for children’s hospital wards for a quarter of a century.

Since 2012, Give Me 5 for Kids has raised over one million dollars locally, benefiting the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children in Canberra.

Dr Tony Lafferty, Paediatric Endocrinologist at the Canberra Hospital, says that Give Me 5 for Kids helps the Canberra Hospital purchase equipment for sick kids that enhances medical care.

Dr Tony Lafferty.

“Give Me 5 for Kids provides important things that might not otherwise be accessible,” he explains. “[These] things might be considered to be optional extras but…significantly enhance the experience that children and their parents may have.”

The organisation also supports families with sick kids, in times of need.

Public servant Susan Kenny experienced how Give Me 5 for Kids can help ease a difficult situation when her now three-and-a-half-year-old was born at just 25 weeks and again when her one-and-a-half-year-old was born at 30 weeks.

Susan’s first son was born in Melbourne while Susan was visiting family and was unable to be transferred to Canberra due to Melbourne hospital restrictions. However, after getting in touch with Canberra Hospital, Susan says “they said they were happy to organise a transfer when he was ready, from Melbourne to Canberra Hospital”, a vital step in bringing Susan and her son back home.

Years later, Susan’s second son was born via emergency caesarean section at the Canberra Hospital.  “I never thought something like that would happen,” says Susan. “I had never heard of people having premature babies before, and it happens to a lot more people than you realise. Without those things in place, it would have been very tough.”

Susan, Francois and family.

What’s on Canberra Hospital’s current ‘wishlist’?

“This year there’s a number of things that [the hospital] is hoping to try and purchase, including a Panda Warmer, which is a special type of bed with a heated design, which helps keep babies stable, particularly when they are really unwell,” says Dr Lafferty.

Another item on the wish list is a bladder scanner, which is a non-invasive way to “identify how much urine a child is making or to determine whether there’s enough urine in their bladder to actually collect a catheter specimen.”

Two breast milk pumps are also on the list as “sometimes mums are in hospital and they’ve got a very unwell child that’s unable to breastfeed and yet they’ve got breast milk… we’re really keen to try and ensure that mums have the ongoing ability to feed their baby when their baby starts to feel better.”

Dr Lafferty explains that one of the biggest items on this year’s wishlist is the software ‘Growth Analyser’. This is a “special software package that enables us to longitudinally plot the growth, weight, and height of children over time… Growth measurement is integral to actually looking at how well children are.”

This software would help to “indicate lots of things including the presence of disease if the child’s growing poorly, or the absence or loss of a hormone or an excess of hormones.”

Items in Canberra Hospital previously purchased through funds raised by Give Me 5 for Kids include artwork as part of the Art & Health program , toys and comfort items, humidifiers, monitors, books, Fitbits, and iPads (used for distraction during day stay procedures where children are particularly anxious), as well as important items such as portable ultrasound equipment and surgical equipment.

How to donate

To donate to Give Me 5 for Kids, make an online donation via the website or head to the Canberra’s leading street food event, The Forage on Saturday 15 June from 2 pm – 7 pm at the Dairy Road Precinct, Fyshwick and buy a Forage branded water bottle where $5 from every purchase will go towards Give Me 5 for Kids.

There will also be gold coin donation buckets at the event and $2 raffle tickets can also be purchased from the Canberra Hospital Foundation or by phoning 5124 3542 during office hours.

 Find out more about Give Me 5 for Kids here.