Joy of Giving Christmas Appeal
Help us spread some joy and magic to children in hospital this festive season by donating to the John Hunter Children's Hospital 2024 Joy of Giving Christmas Appeal.
How your donation helps
Your donation, big or small, helps Hunter New England LHD provide life-saving care for our patients, including sick and injured children.
By supporting our children's health services, you help us use the latest equipment in a friendly and caring environment.
Every dollar brings us closer to getting more life-saving equipment. Your donation could also help refurbish patient rooms or treatment spaces, making our children feel more at home.
There are many ways to help. Learn more and make a difference today.
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John Hunter Children's Hospital
John Hunter Children's Hospital is a specialised paediatric hospital in Newcastle, providing complex medical, surgical, major trauma and neonatal services for Northern...
Regular giving – Keeping Dreams Alive
The Keeping Dreams Alive monthly giving program brings together caring people to help us buy life-changing and life-saving equipment for children and young people.
By supporting this program, you help the 50,000 children and young people who visit the John Hunter Children’s Hospital each year.
With your support, we can provide the best care using the latest technology for treatment and diagnosis.
How it works
You make a regular monthly gift of whatever you can manage. We combine your gift with those from other Keeping Dreams Alive partners to buy equipment for children and young people.
After 12 months, your donations can help provide:
- Nebulizers for Cystic Fibrosis patients.
- Wheelchairs for our occupational therapy team to assist oncology and trauma patients.
- Single sofa beds for parents to stay overnight with their child.
- Binocular ophthalmoscopes to perform eye exams on premature babies.
Why become a Keeping Dreams Alive partner
- Regular gifts keep admin costs low. Your direct debit only receives one receipt a year, saving on postage and processing. This means more of your donation directly helps children.
- Regular gifts provide a steady stream of support. This allows us to plan and improve care programs, making them more reliable and responsive.
To celebrate your decision and welcome you to our Keeping Dreams Alive family, we will send you a welcome pack outlining the impact of your commitment. We will also keep you updated with regular reports and invite you to special events at the John Hunter Children’s Hospital.
Contact us on (02) 4921 4492 to start your regular giving program.
Become a corporate partner
Partnering with one of our children's health services, such as John Hunter Children's Hospital, isn't just a good business decision — it's a powerful way to impact the lives of sick and injured children.
We are committed to building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with each of our partners. We work with you individually to meet your expectations and wishes.
If you're interested in aligning your business with our brand, please contact us at (02) 4921 4492 or email HNELHD-CYPFCommunication@health.nsw.gov.au.
Workplace giving
Employee giving
A few dollars a week can make a big difference to a sick or injured child.
Payroll giving is a simple yet meaningful way to contribute to the needs of sick children, young people and their families. By having a few dollars each week deducted from your pay, you are providing vital reliable income, which we can use to purchase equipment and support programs.
Speak with your Payroll or HR Department to organise your donation to be paid directly from your pre-tax salary. Why not also ask your organisation to match employee contributions to help raise more funds.
Employer gift matching
Show your commitment to staff and what is important to them in their community by not only establishing a payroll giving scheme, but also by matching your employee's contributions.
Enjoy greater staff engagement, retention, productivity, reputation and social impact.
Payroll giving is extremely easy to set up through your payroll system and gifts can transferred to our services at your convenience.
Leave a gift in your Will
Make a difference in the health and experience of children and young people in our care.
By leaving a gift to the John Hunter Children’s Hospital, no matter the size, you provide vital funding for state-of-the-art equipment. This allows our doctors and staff to offer better care and treatment to young patients.
Your gift also helps the us provide essential services and support to families in their time of need.
How to leave a bequest in your Will
When writing your Will it is important to first consider your loved ones, once this is done leaving a bequest to the John Hunter Children’s Hospital is a very meaningful way to support children, young people and families.
You can either include the bequest when writing your Will, or add a clause to your existing Will by adding a codicil or updating your Will. It is highly recommended that you seek professional legal advice to ensure your wishes are recorded in a legally binding way.
Types of bequests
Residual bequest
A residual bequest is a gift of whatever is left of your estate (or a percentage of your estate) after all your other gifts, taxes and debts have been fulfilled. This kind of bequest gives you the comfort of knowing that your loved ones will be provided for while also providing your support to the sick children we care for. Residuary bequests retain their value over the years, regardless of inflation, as they are not specific amounts of money.
Pecuniary bequest
This is gift of a set dollar amount determined by you at the time of drawing up or altering your Will.
Specific bequest
This is a gift of an item of specific value to be passed onto John Hunter Children’s Hospital in order to generate funds. This can include items such as real estate, artwork and jewellery.
Common questions about bequests
Can I leave my gift to a specific hospital or unit?
Yes, you can. While general funds are most helpful because they allow us to support all our patients and services equally, we understand you might want to give to a specific hospital, program, or unit.
If you want to do this, make sure it is clearly stated in your Will. We suggest getting professional legal advice to ensure your wishes are properly followed.
I have left a gift, now what?
Thank you for your generosity. Your gift will help many patients and families.
You are now part of a special group committed to helping sick children. We would love to stay in touch, invite you to exclusive events, and offer tours of the facility you donated to.
If you have left a gift in your Will please advise the Fundraising Team (02) 4921 4492, we would love to meet you and understand your intentions to ensure your wishes are met.
Give gifts to kids in hospital
Thousands of families across Hunter New England visit our facilities each year, almost 50,000 children and young people visit the John Hunter Children’s Hospital alone, and as you can imagine they are in constant need of little extra comforts to help pass the time and entertain our many patients.
During the course of the year we are in desperate need of the following brand new items:
- colour pencils, crayons and textas
- children's books - for ages 0 to 18 years
- colouring books or blank colouring pads
- Play Doh
- new stickers
- simple DYI craft packs
- easy / small (no larger than A4) paint-by-number kits
- Matchbox cars
- sticker / activity books
- pop its or fidget toys
- small soft toys or teddies.
Download our 2024 Christmas gift wishlist (PDF 222.94KB).
Check out the list of preferred books for patients (PDF 4.8MB), as recommended by the teachers at John Hunter Hospital school.
Please donate brand new items only. Due to health regulations, we can't accept used toys, books or knitted goods.
If you can assist us with any of the above items, please contact our Fundraising Department (02) 4921 4492.
Donate professional services
John Hunter Children's Hospital is always in need of pro bono professional services. Donation of goods in kind such as graphic design, printing, raffle or auction prizes, catering and event production services are vital to our success.
Gifts in Kind donations are not eligible for a tax-deductible receipt.
If you or your company would like to assist by making a donation of goods or services in kind, please contact us.
Contact Hunter New England LHD
We welcome your questions, feedback, compliments, and information requests. Contact us, and we'll be happy to assist you. Your input is important to us.