Quarterly Update (September 2021)
2021 Dinner on the Runway by Ibis Mackay
What an incredible start to the financial year with two of our three major annual events taking place in the past two months.
The Dinner on the Runway by Ibis Mackay took place on Friday 10th September and was an outstanding success for Mackay Hospital Foundation (MHF), with the final amount raised is $40,600.
Event sponsors included Ibis Mackay, Allure Laser and Skin Studio, Jayden Enterprises, Anything Environmental, Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal, Ezy Group, Harvey Norman Bedding, Payne Print, Property Law Centre, Revolution Electrical, Shepherd & Dudley, Whitson Dawson.
Additional support came from numerous in-kind donors, auction prize donors, Brooke Lee Modelling & Deportment School, Fame Talent School, Bright Light Marketing, and Mackay Airport.
Sponsors were given preference to purchase additional tickets before the event, so just over 100 tickets were pre-sold before tickets were made available to the public.
The initial allocation was for 200 tickets, which was extended to 250 to cater to demand and ended with 270 attendees on the night.
All feedback from the event has been positive, so with a tweak to seating arrangements and a few other minor details, Ibis Mackay is looking to increase attendee numbers to 350 next year, with the event date set for Friday 9th September 2022.
Our other major event within the past couple of months was Mackay Hospital Foundation’s Giving Day which didn’t fall in the September quarter, and while I will elaborate more in our end of year newsletter, we’re too excited not to share the news that we raised an incredible $118,664 in the twelve hours from 8 am to 8 pm on 14th October.
More about that soon.
Successful grants
In the September quarter, Mackay Hospital Foundation has been very fortunate to receive grant funding from Anglo American and QCoal.
The Anglo American is funding equipment at Moranbah Hospital, and the QCoal funds will be utilised to provide a sofa bed in the Palliative Care Room at Collinsville Hospital.
Mackay Hospital Foundation applies for grant funding for particular items of medical equipment and health-related projects.
We are very fortunate to have excellent relationships with local organisations that are willing to donate equipment to address the greatest needs for our local hospitals.
Some of the equipment purchased by the MHF since July 2021, with funds sourced by the Foundation, have included:
Improvements to the Children’s bay in the Proserpine Hospital Emergency Department, $4,000
Restoration of the Mackay Base Hospital Maternity Department courtyard, $17,000
Purchase of a Astodia Diaphanoscope for the Special Care Nursery to identify air or liquid-filled structures below the skin’s surface in premature and newborn babies $2,900
Improvements to the patient lounge in Mackay Base Hospital Day Surgery Unit $4,500
Installation of a projector and screen, and giant chess board in the common areas of the Stroke and Rehabilitation Unit at Mackay Base Hospital to facilitate patient rehabilitation activities, $8,500
BOQ volunteer program sponsorship
Mackay Hospital Foundation and BOQ Mackay City are pleased to announce their continued partnership.
Melissa Green, Owner – BOQ Mackay City has been sponsoring the Mackay Hospital Foundation Volunteers since 2018 and has committed to continuing the partnership for another twelve months.
Some of the roles filled by the volunteers in the hospital include: operation of the hospital gift shop, staffing the information desk at the front of the hospital, trolley service throughout the hospital, crewing the patient transport buggy, assisting in the Children and Adolescent Health Unit, Day Surgery, working at events and fundraising barbecues, plus much more.
Mackay Hospital Foundation currently has 99 active volunteers and there’s spaces for many more so if you know of anyone interested in donating a few hours of their time each week, please get in contact with us.
Myer Mackay’s Charity Partner
Myer Mackay has nominated Mackay Hospital Foundation as their Charity Partner for FY 22. The next time you shop in Myer at Caneland Central and you’re asked to round up your purchase total by a few cents, please know that your contribution is helping to provide better health facilities for patients throughout the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday regions.
Mackay Hospital Foundation staff and volunteers will also be in Myer in the lead up to Christmas to provide you with a gift-wrapping service in return for a small donated to the Foundation.
Call in and have your gifts beautifully wrapped and round up your purchase in support of Mackay Hospital Foundation.
Other ways our corporate supporters are helping
An added service provided by Mackay Hospital Foundation is the courtesy patient transfer service. This new service transports patients and visitors from the Mackay Base Hospital car park to the entrance of the hospital.
The patient buggy is sponsored by Treadwell Tyre Service, and we acknowledge and extend our sincere thanks to Jeff and Maree for providing the ongoing maintenance of the vehicle.
The patient transfer service is currently operating several days each week with designated pick-up areas throughout the car park, however we are in need for more volunteers to fill some of the rostered positions. If you have the time and are willing to assist, we’d love to hear from you.
In August, we were very fortunate to have the team from Autocorner visit the Children and Adolescent Unit (CAU) at Mackay Base Hospital where they presented a cheque for $12,420. These funds will be applied to the upgrade of the interior play area in the Children and Adolescent Unit.
In addition to the play area, the management and staff at Autocorner have donated a large number of books to the Children’s Unit.
Jet Maintenance Services is another corporate supporter who chose Mackay Hospital Foundation as a recipient of their fundraising when they donated a nominated amount for each vehicle service throughout the month.
There are so many ways in which organisations can raise funds for Mackay Hospital Foundation such as: rounding up sales; choosing a particular product and donating a percentage of those sales; getting employees involved and hosting fundraising events such as staff barbecues, morning teas or raffles; allowing employees to donate their time to help MHF staff set up for events or assist with Christmas gift wrapping; choose a particular month and ask customers to make a donation at point of sale in support of Mackay Hospital Foundation; placing a donation box in your business; sponsoring one of our events; or for a $1,000 tax deductible donation per annum, ask about joining our Building Healthy Futures program.
Mackay Hospital Foundation Events
As we come to the end of the 2021 calendar year, with the exception of Christmas Gift Wrapping, all major events have been completed and it’s been the biggest fundraising year on record for Mackay Hospital Foundation.
Check out our upcoming events here.
All major events have sponsorship opportunities, so if there’s an event you’re particularly interested in supporting, please contact us here at Mackay Hospital Foundation on 4885 5915 or phone Leonie on 0488 998 980.