Teenager an inspiration

10-Jul-2012

Adolescent patients at the Mackay Base Hospital will benefit from new arts and craft materials, due to a special donation from Mackay teen, Katie Hatfield. Katie Hatfield recently celebrated her 18th birthday and in lieu of gifts she requested via the social media Facebook to her family and friends a monetary donation in support of the Children’s Ward at the Mackay Base Hospital and she received $700.

“I got inspired through a friend of the family who is being treated for cancer at the Mackay Base Hospital. I thought that I have enough stuff and do not really need anything, so I asked my friends and family to donate money,  instead of gifts.” Katie said. Helen Alvers, Nurse Unit Manager of the Children and Adolescent Ward is impressed with Katie’s decision. “Not many teenagers would sacrifice their birthday presents to make a donation instead, this is very inspirational.”

Mackay Hospital Foundation Manager Mayte Sanchez said, “We offered Katie to support the Adolescent Patients at the Children’s Ward by purchasing art and craft materials to keep them occupied, creative and entertained during their short or longer stay at the Mackay Base Hospital. As Katie is an artist herself, she embraced the idea and even offered to do some arts projects with adolescent patients in the future”.

Katie Hatfield was one of the three regional winners to receive the Queensland Creative Generations Ministers’ Award in 2011. Her artwork has been displayed in Art Space and is currently travelling around the state. Katie thanked all her friends and family who donated to this worthy cause and made her birthday this year very special.

Brooke Poppi, Paediatric Nurse Children's Ward, Tanner Reynolds and Katie Hatfield.
Tanner was a patient at the Children's Ward and he was very impressed with Katie's wonderful donation of arts and crafts materials

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