Halekulani Bowlers have beaten their own fundraising record, raising $5,000 for The Ronald McDonald Family Room at Gosford Hospital.
The Twilight Men’s Bowlers come together every Thursday night, from September to April, for a game of bowls to raise money for charity. Last year’s efforts raised $3,000 for the Family Room and this year’s effort smashed that fi gure. The Bowlers really stepped it up with the Tuesday Night Mixed Bowlers getting on board to help the Twilight Bowlers raise more money for the charity.
Mr Terry Gibson, who has been organising the Twilight Bowlers each week, said the boys loved that they were helping sick kids on the Coast and their families. The Ronald McDonald Family Room at Gosford Hospital opened in 2013, and since then, there have been over 25,000 people walk through the big purple door in need of a break. The facility, for families of child patients, operates seven days a week, with help from 89 volunteers, and is often referred to as a ‘Home within the Hospital’.
The Gosford Family Room provides families with an environment and facilities that help families to be better equipped for long stays in the hospital while ensuring that they can be close to their child at all times, as they don’t need to leave the hospital to go home. Gosford Family Room Coordinator, Ms Kami Dibden said when you have a sick child in hospital, it is a stressful and worrisome time for parents and families. “While we can’t fi x the problem, the Family Room can help to reduce the financial burden and stress of families who have a child in hospital. “This year, we have had over 4,000 people walk through our doors in need of a break and time away from the ward and we couldn’t be there to support our families if it wasn’t for the community supporting us,” Ms Dibden said.
“We operate as our own charity in the local region meaning that the money raised here stays here. “We don’t receive Government funding, so when we say we can’t do it without the community, we mean it. “We rely on community donations and corporate sponsorships to enable us to support our families when they need it most,” Ms Dibden concluded.
Email, May 3, 2016 Kami Dibden, Ronald McDonald Family Room, Gosford Hospital