WWW.CHALLENGE.ORG.AU

SEptEmbER 2009

JOEL & mOCOURAGEOUS CAtS

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Features

All donations, advertising, story contributions and editorial enquiries should be directed to the Challenge Office on (03) 9329 8474 or emailed to mail@challenge.org.au

The views, opinions and advice expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and contributors, and not necessarily those of, or endorsed by, the Challenge Committee.

All materials appearing in this magazine remain the property of Challenge and are not to be reproduced without the express permission of the Chief Executive Officer.

CHALLENGEFACTFILE

Chief Executive Officer David Rogers

Editors Corinne Said

The Leuk saga Mark Knight

Design Edit Media

Digital prepress & printing Impact Printing

Further information A publication of: Challenge Challenge House 529-535 King St West Melbourne, Victoria Australia 3003.

Cover Image Mo meets up with Cat Joel Selwood.

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what's inside?

WHAt IS CHALLENGE?

Challenge is a non-profit organisation which was established in 1983 to provide children living with cancer and other life-threatening blood disorders with an opportunity to put their illness aside and interact with other children in similar circumstances. Our organisation offers services for our families 365 days a year, which include camps, family activities, hospital and parent support, financial support, holiday accommodation and an extensive ticketing program.

Challenge is committed to ensuring children and families living with cancer and other life-threatening blood disorders are continually supported, from the time of diagnosis, through the treatment period and beyond. We do this by providing our members with quality tailored programs, which make life enjoyable for children and families during the challenges and uncertainties of fighting their illness. With an emphasis on fun, all our activities promote family unity and encourage the formation of support networks, a vital component in the healing process.

Challenge strongly believes that children and families who are offered positive experiences are better able to cope with the pressures of a life-threatening illness.

INSIDE CHALLENGE

The name Inside Challenge was chosen for this magazine because it is a wonderful way of keeping children, families, volunteers and members of the community up-to-date on the happenings at Challenge and on the direction the program is taking. It provides us with an opportunity to:

•Learnabouteachother•Exchangeinformation•Shareourexperiences•Developfriendships•Keepoursupportersandthecommunity

informed about our programs.

tO HELp

You can help Challenge in a variety of ways. You can make a donation, volunteer your time, donate goods and services, or organise an auction item for our next fundraising event. Your business can also make a difference by incorporating Challenge in any fundraising programs. You can even help just by talking about Challenge and by letting people know who we are and what we do!

Donations to Challenge are Tax Deductible. Whether it is a donation of two dollars or twenty dollars, you can claim it on your tax.

Cheques should be made payable to Challenge: a cancer support network and sent to:

Challenge Challenge House 529-535 King St, West Melbourne, Victoria 3003. A receipt will then be forwarded to you.

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REGULARS

4 Bloke in Charge

5 Challenge Dates

6 Head to Head

52 Reflections and Thanks

52 Condolences

54 Letters to Leuk

FUndRAiSinG

26 Money, Money, Money, Money

31 Keeping Cancer at Bay

31 Grazia!

32 Our Biggest Aussie Pie Night

43 Mum’s Travels

44 DUC Club

OUT in ThE COMMUniTY

46 The AAMI Classic

46 Gearing Up for Grand Prix Action

47 Wicked

48 A special Collingwood Mascot

48 Challenge visits Arden St.

49 Carlton coin toss

50 Logies with Lirinda

51 Love thy Neighbour

in hOSPiTAL

34 Hospital Happenings

34 Trading Faces

36 Monash Madness

37 Challenge Playgroup

ACTiviTiES

38 Wee Willy Boat Day

39 Splash & Play Day

40 Happy days (and nights!) at the Hilton

PAREnT SUPPORT

42 The Parent Support Program

42 In the Details

– Page 14

On ThE GREEn WiTh ROBERT ALLEnBY

Although 2008 was a year of highs and lows for our International Patron Robert Allenby, his commitment to Challenge was clear in December when he helped us raise important funds at the Robert Allenby Golf Day and Gala Dinner.

A FAMiLY jOURnEY

Each Challenge family has a unique story. Read about one family’s journey here.

diAMOndS On ThE dAnCE FLOOR

The Palladium at Crown was sprinkled with gold dust in June as the 2009 Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend Gala Dinner descended for another spectacular night.

TREvOR BARkER SPORTS CAMP

We arrived at Urban Camp in Melbourne for the Trevor Barker Sports Camp, not realising it was going to be the hottest day ever in Melbourne’s history!

WATERSkiLLS CAMP

It may have been rainy but this just added to the watery fun as we surfed, kayaked, jet-skiied, biscuited and snorkelled our way through the weekend.

hAMiLTOn CAMP 2009

Hamilton Camp is of course a Challenge camp so you already know how cool it is but here is a little sneak preview.

MOTORBikE CAMP

Either on two wheels (or four!) the weekend was filled with non stop riding. Read all about the action here.

jUniOR CAMP 1

When you take a group of kids on camp who are aged 8 and under, there are bound to be nervous parents waiting to say goodbye. The first Junior camp of 2009 was no exception, but with so many exciting activities, there were happy kids waving goodbye from the bus windows.

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diamonds on the dance floor

A Family journey – Page 12

On the Green with Robert Allenby – Page 8

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CALENDARbLOkE IN CHARGE October

Saturday 5th . . . CHALLENGE CHRISTMAS PARTYSaturday 12th . . . MUMS’ CHRISTMAS LUNCH Monday 14th . . . ROBERT ALLENBY GOLF DAY & GALA DINNERFriday 18th - Sunday 20th . . . . . . SURF CAMP

Saturday 3rd . . . CHALLENGE BALLSunday 4th . . . MOVIE DAY Saturday 17th - Sunday 18th . . . MUMS’ RETREATFriday 23rd - Sunday 25th . . . DUC CLUB BEREAVED DAD’S WEEKENDSaturday 24th . . . BERWICK MUMS’ LUNCH

NovemberSaturday 7th - Sunday 8th . . . MUMS’ RETREAT

Sunday 8th . . . NEW VOLUNTEER TRAINING

Saturday 14th . . . MORNINGTON MUMS’ LUNCH

Sunday 15th . . . ADAM’S DAY

Saturday 21st . . . DUC CLUB GOLF & BOWLING ACTIVITY DAY

Friday 20th - Monday 23rd . . . COPS & KIDS CAMP

December

Challenge is lucky to have a team of very dedicated staff members who achieve some excellent outcomes for both the organisation and its members. We are also lucky to have a diverse range of volunteers who give of their time freely to assist Challenge wherever possible.

Challenge has conducted many camps since the beginning of the year, kicking off with our Trevor Barker Sports Camp, the ultimate in sporting satisfaction! Unfortunately, it was held on the hottest weekend in the history of the world (well Melbourne at least!) so a rain check had to be taken on some sports. There was still heaps on the agenda though and to each of the sports stars that made the time to visit us at camp – thank you. The kids felt extremely privileged to have met and spent time with you.

For those who may be unaware, the Challenge Waterskills Camp was originally held in Bonnie Doon – what humble beginnings for what is now a very popular camp for our teen members! In the time since we moved to the Mornington Peninsula, the support we have received from the Carrum Ski Club, Camp Manyung, and the local community has been exceptional. This year was no different, and although we were a bit washed out (we can’t seem to win with the weather conditions can we?!) we were still lucky to have a great group of kids and leaders who enjoyed a fantastic and fun weekend.

Check out all of the pics and stories about these camps and our other 2009 camping adventures so far, from page 16 onwards.

The Challenge calendar has also been packed full of activities within the community. Our first Family Activity Day for the year was the Splash & Play Day and we had a blast down in Geelong! This was followed by our Williamstown Boat Day and the eagerly anticipated Challenge Slumber Party, both of which were heaps of fun for everyone!

One of our objectives over the next twelve months is to hold more activities in regional areas, giving families from those communities the opportunity to attend events and meet other kids and families who live nearby. This will also offer our more city-based folk the chance to enjoy a day in some amazing country areas.

One of the things that I am constantly asked about is how people can assist our organisation. The Challenge calendar does change quite often, however there are some events that are regular fixtures. Often, some of the groups and individuals who have supported Challenge throughout much of its 25 years find it difficult to continue their support, with many changes taking place in their own lives.

The Challenge organisation however, must find the resources to offer the camps, activities and other support to our members on a regular basis. Therefore, if while reading Inside Challenge, you feel that yourself or somebody you know, could assist in any way with camps or activities, please let us know, because to enable us to offer the program that we do, it is important to have as many contacts as possible.

Challenge is also constantly on the look out for ways to make time in hospital a little easier. Several years ago we acquired 5 laptops, all of which had wireless internet connection. This proved to be a wonderful resource for children and parents staying on the ward.

One problem that we faced however, was that 5 laptops for up to 30 beds didn’t quite add up and the laptops were always highly sought after. When Challenge member Jaymie was being treated in hospital, he was always trying to email or talk to his mates on the internet and was able to use our laptops occasionally. There were times though, when there were no laptops available and this made some days a little harder to get through.

When Jaymie successfully finished all of his treatment he tried to think of some ways to help make hospital life easier. So his family, along with the help of Telstra, have very kindly donated a further 10 laptops so more kids and their families can be entertained during hospital visits. Huge thanks from all the Challenge families to Claire, David, Jaymie and Telstra for their generous support in helping to fill many boring hours spent in hospital.

There are so many amazing stories of support by both individuals and organisations that it would take me a whole day to tell you about them all. What I can say however, is that each and every story is just as important to Challenge as the one before it, and that we are completely humbled and very grateful for every bit of assistance that is offered to help us continue our programs and services.

Please take the time to read through this latest issue of Inside Challenge – you certainly won’t be disappointed. I’m just sorry that we didn’t get it out earlier for you all to enjoy – but we were too busy making all the stories happen!

Until the next Challenge camp, event or activity, please keep safe, stay happy and I look forward to catching up with you and your family soon.

david RogersCEO, Challenge

Looking through the pages of this magazine, on all that has been achieved over the last few months, i feel extremely proud to be involved in the Challenge organisation.

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With Tom Gleisner

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<Khoa Pham

Georgia VogelsangWith Tom Gleisner

head 2 headhead 2 head

name: Georgia Vogelsang

Age: 6

School: Christ the Priest Primary School, Caroline Springs

Favourite thing about school?

Playing tiggy – we have two breaks. We also have sports on Monday and Wednesday and I’m learning cricket as well as T-ball.

Any brothers or sisters?

One older sister, Meaghan, she’s 8.

And pets?

2 cats (Jasmine and Bluebell), 2 turtles (Myrtle and Thomas), lots of fish – they don’t have names.

Favourite Food?

That’s easy! Pizza. Margarita.

Least Favourite Food?

Avocado, chicken schnitzel, I don’t like soup or vegetables.

name: Khoa Pham

Age: 14

School: I’m in Year 9 at Essendon-Keilor College.

Favourite Subjects?Maths, P.E., I.T.

Least Favourite?I don’t have any subjects I don’t like. (It should be mentioned at this point that Khoa has won 21 school Principal’s Awards in the past 3 years)

What do you like doing in your spare time?Playing computer games (I’m a Mathletics Champion), talking to my friends, soccer (I follow Liverpool), footy (I’m a Bulldogs supporter).

Any brothers or sisters?2 brothers, Nam and Tien.

And pets?No. The only animals in my house are my two brothers running round screaming.

Favourite Tv Shows?Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? And Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation.

What Challenge activities have you been involved with?I went to the Christmas Party and I’ve done plenty of activities here on the ward. I’m also hoping to see the Bulldogs play later this year.

Tell us about when you first got sick.It was August last year, one night I had a really bad headache, it turned out to be a brain tumour. I went to the Sunshine hospital and then to the Royal Childrens. I fell asleep while they were doing a lot of the tests.

And what was it like starting treatment?The first time it was scary but after that it wasn’t that hard really.

What’s the hardest thing about being in hospital?Seeing my parents trying to look after me as best they can while I’m just lying here.

And what are the doctors and nurses like?Really good. They’re very happy that I’m here – and vice versa.

What advice would you give to another child starting treatment?Stay strong knowing that teachers and students will visit and school will stay connected and the doctors and nurses will look after you, as well as groups like Challenge.

Thanks for answering my questions.That’s okay. I feel famous.

Favourite Tv shows?

Lazy Town, Curious George, Lolla and Charlie. I also like High School Musical 3 and Camp Rock.

When did you first get sick?

It was a year ago. I had this big bruise on my arm. The doctor did a blood test and they said it was leukemia.

did you know what that was?

No, but Mum explained it. She said that my blood was sick.

And what was it like starting treatment?

I didn’t really like it, I felt nervous. But I didn’t get too sick.

What activities have you done with Challenge?

I went on Junior Camp, that was good. I liked the animal farm, there was this white rabbit I liked a lot and a black guinea pig. I’ve also been to Disney on Ice, a movie day and the Christmas Party.

What advice would you give to someone starting treatment?

You’ll get used to it.

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FEAtURES

On the greenrOBert ALLenBYWIth

international Challenge Patron Robert Allenby has been involved in the organisation for as long as he has been a professional golfer. his passion for the Challenge program is evident in his commitment to raising funds at his annual golf day and gala dinner, which he has held every year of the 17 he has played on the professional tour.But Robert has been more than just a fundraiser for Challenge. His dedication to the children and families transcends all age groups, and everyone he meets through the Challenge program becomes almost a part of his family. There are many stories from Robert’s time with Challenge that most people would never have heard about, and he is a very different person from the public man seen on the golf course.

Being a professional golfer has many parts to it, but it is in his role of supporting young people that I believe Robert shines the most. The recent loss of his mother Sylvia has

Learning golf from a master

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FEAtURES

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FEAtURES FEAtURES

only crystallised further for Robert, the benefits that the Challenge program provides.

2009 has been quite a successful year for Robert on the golf course, culminating in his selection in this year’s President’s Cup Team. He is arguably one of the best ball strikers on the PGA Tour and with a little luck, will add another PGA Tour win trophy to his cabinet soon.

Whatever happens though, Robert will always be back in December, to host the Robert Allenby Golf Day and Gala Dinner.

On the greenrOBert ALLenBYWIth

To be played at Yarra Yarra Golf Club on Monday 14th December, for the first time in many years, there are still groups of 4 available to play on the day.

With this year’s Gala Dinner being held so close to Christmas, what better place for your staff or friends and family Christmas gathering to be held? With a three-course meal, fantastic entertainment and the knowledge that you are supporting kids with cancer while you celebrate, there couldn’t be a nicer way to get into the festive spirit!

GEt INvOLvEDyOU WON't bE DISAppOINtED

Robert Allenby Charity Challenge Golf dayMonday 14th december, Yarra Yarra Golf Club

Golf and dinner Package

• Apremiumteegiftpackvaluedinexcessof$200

• Breakfastandlunchformorninggroupsandlunchfor afternoon groups

• Allon-coursefoodandbeverages

• Anopportunitytowinoneoffourhole-in-oneprizes,usuallyvaluedatapproximately$50,000each

• Anopportunitytowinoneoffournearest-the-pinandtwolongestdriveprizes,valuedatover$200each,forboth morning and afternoon groups

• Anopportunitytowinoverallgolfdayprizesthattotalover$20,000

• Atablefor10guestsattheRobertAllenbyGalaDinnerat the Palladium, Crown, including 3-course meal, beverages and entertainment

dinner Packages are also available contact Challenge for further information on 9329 8474

Smiles all round for the winners!

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I felt the guilt that my mother must have felt, thinking the cancer must have come from me. I was so unsure of where this would go and I knew firsthand how much of a fight Oskar had on his hands.

Oskar’s treatment was very hard and the side effects were so much worse than mine ever were. Watching my son go through this was the hardest thing I have ever endured. To know what was happening, to know how he was feeling, was surreal.

We learnt to become doctors, pharmacists, nurses, nutritionists … everything. The amount of information is overwhelming and something you wish you didn’t have to know. Oskar went from a cute extroverted child to a frail, quiet and introverted little boy. He didn’t like to see himself in the mirror and would hide behind me when he knew people were staring. He developed a very strong stutter in his speech, which had been so clear, fluent and articulate before the diagnosis.

Picking up the piecesOnly now do I feel like we are starting to pick up all the pieces from the past 2 years of Oskar’s treatment. Oskar has grown into a very confident and cheeky little boy, which is the best indicator of how he is really feeling – very well. The complaints are few if any, his legs and joints do not hurt anymore, he can walk longer distances and generally does not complain. Oskar is now in remission and has been for 2 years.

People ask me over and over again “How do you do it? How do you deal with cancer and then deal with your child having cancer?” I always say the same thing, “Did I have a choice? What was the alternative?” I think back on all that we have endured and believe we are better for it, stronger for it and certainly are a much closer family. I believe we are the lucky ones and every time I think I am having a bad day, I think of our journey and realise that we are actually doing ok now.

We have no doubt in our minds that Oskar will remain cancer free, that I will remain cancer free and that the cancer journey for this family is now really over. Fab and I finally decided to have a 3rd child and our gorgeous little girl Alessiah, is now 14 months old and has the fighting spirit of her family. We know that her birth marks the beginning of the next phase in our lives.

What Challenge means to meChallenge has been part of my life for 17 years. I remember the newsletters on paper coming to me and I remember seeing them in the hospital.

As a mother, Challenge now means happiness, support and freedom. Both my boys jump with glee when a letter arrives in the post marked for them. The camps, the activities, everything we are offered is an absolute joy, and in fact our 3rd child was the result of both our kids attending a Junior Camp!!

Thanks Challenge – you are the saviours in a parent’s world.

By Melissa Molini

The Molini’s

Couldn’t be happierFive and a half years later, in 2000 my husband Fab and I discovered that we had “accidentally” fallen pregnant. To our delight we were in fact going to be parents after all and in June 2001, Jordan was born. Soon after, we again fell pregnant and were ecstatic. We both knew then that the chemo had had no

effect on my ability to have kids, and when our precious Oskar was born in March 2003 we couldn’t have been happier.

The next 8 months flew by with a flurry of activities that go with having 2 boys 19 months apart. I had been feeling very tired and had dropped some much hated weight, had been having night sweats and lack of energy. A routine check up turned into a nightmare, when I discovered a lump in my neck, in the exact same place I had discovered a lump when I was 15 years old. My heart stopped, I panicked and I had a very strong gut feeling about what was wrong.

On Christmas Eve 2003, I was told my Hodgkin’s Lymphoma had returned a whole 17 years later and my family was devastated. When I started my first course of chemo, Oskar was only 8 months and Jordan was 2 and a half years old.

The chemo this time around was different. I knew what to expect which was the easy part; I knew I would lose my hair, I knew how susceptible to infection I would be, I knew how I would feel, but I didn’t know how hard it would be to go through this with my two babies. My husband became my saviour this time; he took over and became mummy and daddy all in one. My family was fantastic and I realised how much support is needed from everyone around you.

Once I got my head around what was ahead of me I knew I would get through this and used the kids and Fab as my inspiration to fight it. Five years have now passed and I’m still in remission; I am a survivor.

How could this be happening to us?In August 2006, everything was going great, our lives had slowly returned to normal until one day when Oskar was 3 and a half years old and complained of a sore tummy. After several weeks I discovered a small lump on his tummy which came and went. Some tests were run and we were told that Oskar had a bowel interception, meaning that part of the bowel was telescoping into another part of the bowel. Not only was this found but also a small shadow appeared in Oskar’s right kidney, which puzzled everyone. From here we went to the Children’s and in absolute shock we waited for our precious boy to have his first major surgery.

Two days after the surgery I was told that the bowel interception was caused by a tumour growing in part of the bowel and that the spot in the kidney was also another tumour. Oskar was diagnosed with stage 3 Burkett’s Lymphoma.

I was so sick I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t blink or cry. I was on my own when I was told and it felt like a terrible dream. When the surgeon left the room, a wave of emotion went through me and I found the courage to ring Fab. I was crying so much that all I could say was “you have to come here now, Oskar has cancer”. Then I heard the tears and the panic in Fab’s voice and I instantly knew I should not have told him that way. How do you cope with that sort of news? How could this be happening to us again?

xCABDEFcfabdMmU

i have always been a firm believer that all things happen for a reason and still believe this even after everything my family has been through. We’ve had a long history of living with cancer, and we are survivors. here is our story.

In 1986, I was 15-years-old and discovered a small lump at the base of my neck. After initially being told I had Glandular Fever, I was referred to a specialist at the Austin hospital when another lump appeared at the back of my throat. I was immediately sent to the Children’s and I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Back then, cancer was never spoken about as it is today, and I felt very alone. I had no idea of what lay ahead for me, and the only thing I knew was that people with cancer lost their hair. As a self-conscious teenager, I must admit it was a huge shock to come to terms with, along with the diagnosis itself.

My parents did what parents do; they blamed themselves for my illness. My mum however, was a tower of strength and became my saviour. In those days the facilities in hospitals were very different to what they are now, so my mum stayed with me every day and night that I was in hospital, sleeping on the floor or in a plastic chair beside my bed, even though parents were not really allowed to stay. This went on for 6 months until I was in remission. The main thing I remember about this time was that the Pope came to Melbourne when I was in hospital, and Mum told me he came to see me, to bless me, to save me!! I believed her!!

When I had been in remission for 8 months my dad was diagnosed with Bowel Cancer. Mum was obviously devastated, fearing that she would be left alone with 3 teenagers. She would go back and forth with me to the Children’s and then take dad to St Vincent’s. This was a very hard time for the whole family, but thankfully my dad got through it and he too is a cancer survivor.

The next 8 years went by with regular checks ups and scans at the hospital, and when I met my future husband Fab and we started asking about my chances of having kids, it became real that I might not be able to become a mum.

A Family Journey

FEAtURES

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For the past eight years the dance floor of the Palladium at Crown has been jam-packed on a Thursday night in june. This is not unusual for the function room, but the difference on this night is that there are only women as far as the eye can see.

They come from far and wide in solidarity to support the mothers of children living with cancer, through the services Challenge offers in the Women for Challenge program.

Throughout 2008-2009, with the help of funds raised at the Diamonds Dinner, Challenge offered:

420 hours of home help to families in need

“Thank you very much for organising and supporting our sessions of home help. It is incredibly appreciated as it was the ‘simple key’ that resolved Mum’s built up stress from the months of treatments in a neglected house. Relaxing in my home, free of accumulated dust feels far more restful than a getaway weekend on a golden beach.”

Respite and holiday accommodation for 90 families at two beachside locations

“We would all like to thank everyone at Challenge for giving us the opportunity to have this holiday. Our daughter is having a fantastic time and feels much better. It has been wonderful to be away from everything especially from hospital.”

Challenge Diamonds ClubThis year we were thrilled to launch the Challenge Diamonds Club, which has been created specifically to reward Diamonds attendees throughout the year, for their continued support.

The Diamonds Club was designed exclusively to offer rewards and benefits to the Women for Challenge and our valued partners will be providing exclusive offers, a range of discounts at certain times throughout the year, and invitations to private events – all designed just for members! Upon joining the Club, guests were issued with a stylish, numbered “diamond” key ring which they simply needed to present at point of sale to take advantage of the many offers available.

We’re delighted to announce our current partners include Bed Bath N Table; Bib Stillwell BMW; Le Desire; Melbourne Diamond Importers; Natural Instinct; Trading Faces and Tyrrell’s Wines – just to name a few!

We hope to grow our partnership base and will keep members informed via our bi-monthly Diamonds Club newsletter where we’ll not only update what’s happening at Challenge, but also detail the current offers that are available. Challenge Diamonds Club is an exclusive Club – membershiphasbeencappedsodon’tdelay.At$20.00formembership, we’re sure you’ll agree it will be fantastic value so phone Challenge to join up with the Club that’s all about rewarding you while supporting Challenge.

Regional support to reduce isolation, through brunches

“The cancer experience is such an isolating experience and ‘as far from normal life’ as we could ever have imagined it to be. Thank you for working so tirelessly at bringing a little normalcy and loads of sunshine into our lives at a time when our perspective looked very grey.”

Monies raised from this year’s event will allow Challenge to expand our parent and family support programs. One of the aims of this support is to provide services which alleviate the stress of household tasks and therefore give parents more time to spend as a family once home from hospital. With the house cleaned and lawns mowed, families can enjoy ‘personal time’ to re-focus and re-energise.

Diamondson the Dance Floor

the newest addition Nintendo, who had the ladies slipping their shoes off to work out on the Wii Fit!

The added surprise for each and every lady who attended was a well-stocked show bag brimming with fantastic goodies from Bib Stillwell BMW, Redken, La Clinica, Le Desire, Liberator and Liberation Music, Natural Instinct, Notebook, Hairy Lemon and Heritage Chocolates, not to mention special offers from Trading Faces, Masci, Atelier, Steve Madden and The Finishing Touch.

Our MC’s for the evening Tom Gleisner and Alison Whyte did a magnificent job at keeping the ladies engaged and we were very lucky this year to have a special set from Tania Doko and up and coming soul sister Ella Thompson. Their rendition of “Superwoman” rang very true as the room was filled with superwomen that night.

Of course the most anticipated moment of the evening was when Pam Halsall announced the lucky winner of the diamond raffle, who went home with a spectacular diamond pendantvaluedat$10,250.That’ssomeseriousbling!

This very special evening would not have been possible without the wonderful work of the Women for Challenge committee headed by Chairwoman Anna Higgins. We are so grateful for all their work in making the evening a success.

These important services would not be possible without support from the annual Diamonds Dinner, and this year saw the largest ever group of women come together for a nightthatraisedover$100,000forChallenge.

The event would simply not be possible without the incredible support of so many log-term sponsors. In particular I would like to acknowledge Bed Bath N’ Table, along with Melbourne Diamond Importers (formerly known as PH Diamonds) and Mix 101.1FM, whose continued belief in this evening helps to ensure its success.

Other wonderful friends include Masci Hair, who had their hairdryers, curlers and hair spray out turning gorgeous girls into glamorous ladies; Atelier, who used their make-up skill to colourful effect; Tyrrell’s Wine who have very generously come on board to stock our very popular ‘Bubbly Bar’; and

Glamour girls

A touch of gold!

Tottie and our fabulous WFC Chairwoman Anna higgins

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CAmpS CAmpS

Highsof Sports Camp!TheBy Laura McClelland

We arrived at Urban Camp in Melbourne for the Trevor Barker Sports Camp, not realising it was going to be the hottest day ever in Melbourne’s history! But do you think that stopped us at all? no way, it just meant we changed the weekend’s planned activities a little…So instead of 14 sports, we compromised a bit and did 8 instead!

First up, Ultimate Frisbee with Martin and the gang. For people who don’t know, it’s a great sport and you need lots of skills to play it, something we didn’t quite acquire when the crazy wind kept making frisbees head in every direction! By the time we had finished everyone was very hot and ready for a drink break. It was 10am and the temperature was 32 degrees.

Next up, Lacrosse and Hockey. Challenge friend and Olympic gold medallist Danni Roche ran the hockey clinic. She went through some skills and tactics of the game with us, and then we played in teams against each other, which was really great fun. We then swapped groups and met up with Shelley Maher and her mates from the world champion female Lacrosse Team for the lacrosse clinic. It was fun and exciting, but quite hard to actually pass the ball. We managed in the end though! Lacrosse is a game I’d never even heard of before, but I really loved it and being coached by the world champs wasn’t bad either! It was 12.30pm and the temperature was 40 degrees.

After a lunch break, we all felt exhausted and seeing as it was 46 degrees outside, we canned the initial plan of AFL and basketball

clinics and decided to go swimming at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. Luckily, the AFL guys who were going to coach us came along to say hi before our swim, so we got some photos and autographs with some greats, including Richo, Robert Murphy and Saints coach Ross Lyon (must have been meeting the Challenge gang that got him coaching the Saints so well this season!) I bet they were glad they weren’t out in the heat too!

After a couple of hours of cooling off in the water we headed back to Urban Camp for showers and then pizza at La Porchetta, where we got a feast fit for a king or queen served up to us. We then headed to the movies to enjoy the air conditioning and of course, a movie!

We awoke the next morning and it was surprisingly cool, which was a big relief. After breakfast we headed to Southbank to try our luck at Parkour, a new sport from France that involves running and jumping through the urban environment. We practiced climbing walls, balancing on rails and jumping into tight spots and it was lots of fun.

Next it was off to Albert Park to play soccer with the South Melbourne Football Club. We learnt some great skills and played a small game. The players were great, but soon enough had to head off for their own professional game at Bob Jane Stadium.

After a quick bite to eat for lunch we played rugby with Julie and some of the boys from Melbourne Storm. Julie taught us the rules of the game and then we put our new skills to the test and actually played the game.

The final sport for the weekend was tennis with champion Todd Woodbridge. We learnt how to play the forehand, backhand, volley and the smash. He was great at returning the ball to us, even if we did try to win the point!

Just when we thought all the sports were over, there was one more to come. Who would have thought you could make a sport out of ice cream eating? At Challenge we can!

Thanks to Challenge for organising the camp, and to all the leaders and sport stars, who helped to make it the best camp ever.

Coming up aces with Todd Woodbridge

Racquet skills

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CAmpS

Wicked The Challenge Waterskills Camp was a fantastic weekend away and as my first camp it definitely convinced me to go on more!At first I was really unsure about going away as I can’t swim well and at the time, although I’d finished chemo, I couldn’t even walk without crutches due to an amputation.

Our first stop was the National Watersports Centre where members from the Carrum Ski Club gave up their time to help us, and we spent the day waterskiing, biscuiting, wakeboarding and jet skiing, which I’d never tried before but turned out to be really fun.

There were a couple of movies on offer that night, but most of us were exhausted from such a big day.

Over the weekend, the weather was pretty miserable, so even though we braved surfing in the rain (you get wet anyway!) and the Giant Swing at camp, some water sports had to be cancelled but the activities we did in their place were heaps of fun.

Challenge probably should have swapped the weekends for Trevor Barker Sports Camp and Waterskills Camp because we would have loved the warmer weather!

With the rain pelting down and the winds whipping up a frenzy, our dolphin swim, sailing and kayaking were out of the question so we enjoyed a movie and then laser games and bowling at Crown’s Galactic Circus

Overall Waterskills Camp was great and I highly recommend it and other camps to Challenge members. It was great to make new friends out of the hospital environment.

For me though, surfing was the highlight, as I never thought I’d be able to do it, even before my amputation.

I want to say a big thank you to the Challenge crew for all their work in providing such a fun three days.

Challenge member and now volunteer Tim also brought his jet ski and made sure the experience of riding with him was one to remember!! I think it allowed Tim to have as much fun as we kids were.

We had snacks all day because being in the water makes you really hungry, and then after our lunch, we discovered that Krispy Kreme had donated heaps of doughnuts for our afternoon tea – fantastic! Going to camp seems to mean many things, but one of the best is definitely being able to eat whatever you like whenever you like without your parents telling you off!

I had started the day pretty nervous, but everyone made me feel really welcome and comfortable and by the end of the day you couldn’t get me out of the water!

We headed to Camp Manyung late in the afternoon, where we’d be staying, and were welcomed by a delicious lasagna. I know people assume camp food is pretty ordinary but the guys at Camp Manyung know how to make everything taste great! Homemade cookies, muffins, you name it, we had it. And fruit every day of course…

Water gamesBy kelly Maynard

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By Mollie and niamh Moloney

Hamilton Camp 2009

✪ Go-kart racing – I spun off a few times, so I’m no Mark Webber, but I still had a lot of fun. If you pressed down hard on the pedals you went really fast. It took a while to get used to it but once I did, it was flat out, fast fun, especially on the straight.

✪ horse and kart ride – this is the old fashioned way to get around. We sat on the very top of the carriage and it was really cool.

✪ Mount Eccles tour – We actually went into the caves and it was so dark we had to have little lanterns. When we looked up on top of the roof it looked silvery because of the water droplets. It was really cool inside, both the temperature and the atmosphere.

Community spirit in HamiltonOn the last weekend of the Easter school holidays

Challenge took over the town of hamilton, 300

kilometres west of Melbourne, when more than

40 kids and volunteers headed off on an adventure

filled weekend.

The kids, aged between 8-12 years, were provided with

opportunities that many city kids don’t normally get.

Highlights included a quick lawn bowls coaching session, a

ride in a horse and carriage, a trip to Mt. Eccles and a tour

of the underground cave. Joy flights over the Hamilton

Shire gave us the best views of the Grampians and go

carting at Buckley Swamp was awesome. We got to cruise

with speed boat and hot rod rides followed by a quick dip

in the Hamilton pool. We even got to visit a working farm

where we saw a sheep shearing display – some of us for

the first time! And who could forget kicking up the dust with

the Hamilton Bootscooters? Finally a ride on the back of

motorbikes roaring through the Grampians to Halls Gap was

a great end to a fun filled weekend.

For 17 years now this camp has been supported by many

community groups. We would like to thank everyone who

makes this camp possible including Gavan and Jenny

O’Donnell, the Dunkeld, Hamilton and Macarthur Lions

Clubs, North Hamilton and Hamilton Rotary, Hamilton

Bootscooters Group, Hamilton Go Kart Club, South West

Street Riders, Hamilton Apex Club, Hamilton Bowling Club,

Hamilton Aerodrome, Hamilton Drag Racing Club and the

Hamilton College who have provided wonderful

accommodation for us each year.

This year we were also very lucky to have the support of

Elders Insurance, who donated wonderful hoodies for the

kids and leaders to keep warm in during the camp.

We are already counting down until next year when we

head to Hamilton again!

✪ joy flights – about 3 of us went in the planes together and we went up really high over the mountains. Touching down we landed with a big BOOM and we all had butterflies in our tummies. It was such fun.

✪ Round and Round with Micka – he is seriously crazy and he had us all laughing as he drove the bus around and around and around and around the town roundabouts. We were so dizzy.

And much, much more.

But the best part about Hamilton Camp, in my opinion, is the friends that you make. I had great fun mucking around with Kim, Xanthe and Maddison. Staying up late and not wanting to get up in the morning, running around or even sitting down playing a quiet game – whatever it is friends somehow always make it more enjoyable.

We heart hamilton!

CAmpS

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hamilton Camp is of course a Challenge camp so you already know how cool it is but here is a glimpse of the magic that happened this year.

We did so many activities over the three days it was unbelievable!

We got up, got dressed and had breakfast every day, but let’s forget about that and get to the highlights!

here are just some of the cool things we did...

✪ Motorbike riding through the Grampians – We all chose a bike to ride on the back of all the way through the beautiful Grampians. There were Harleys, BMW’s and Triumphs, to name a few and all the bikers had really cool names like “Butch” and “Pickles” – just kidding! My little sister Niamh went with a big kind biker named “Wolf” and she had the best time ever. When they arrived at Hall’s Gap he bought her a HUGE ice-cream and then let her select any souvenir of her choice.

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Camps Camps

By Jess, Jake and Rick EastDad planned to have everything packed and organised well in advance for the Challenge Motorbike Camp we were attending, but waiting two weeks for my brother’s motorbike to be serviced wasn’t part of the plan!

Expression Sessions at Motorbike Camp (well, nearly…)

Before we started riding, we were introduced to Chris Reece, from the Freemason’s. Chris used to be a Challenge volunteer, and in his role as the Grand Master at Freemason’s he decided to support Challenge and organised for 4 brand new 4-wheeler motorbikes to be donated, which was awesome. We gave them a very good workout and they were a lot of fun. Thanks to Chris and everyone at the Masonic Lodge for their support.

Then we were in business and it was motorbike riding, with the kids split into two groups, a beginner’s group and a more advanced group. There were motorbikes speeding around the track as far as you could see. In Macca’s group, we practiced jumps on little bits of the track and had breaks throughout the day. After each break we did another discipline on the motorbike, like learning how to take a corner, how to position your body on the ruts, and knowing how to pick up your bike if you’ve laid it down (or fallen off!)

The guys really gave us a great understanding of everything about motocross riding and if anyone is interested in learning how to ride, or how to ride better, this camp is great.

After a full day’s riding, we were all exhausted and very happy to get back to the Holiday Park. The great thing about this camp is that some of the dads come along and do the hard work like loading the bikes on and off the trailers and cleaning them for riding the next day!

Some of us enjoyed a quick swim in the heated pool, which was cool. We even had a jump on the jumping pillow and then had showers and got a bit jazzed up to go out for dinner before hitting the cinema to watch either “Wolverine” or “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”. All the boys, except for Micka, went to see Wolverine, which was funny!

We got up at 8am the next morning and all had breakfast together. Dad hooked the trailer up and cleaned the cabin while Jake and I played up on the jumping pillow.

On the way to the track, Dad drove around the roundabout about twenty times, but I don’t know where he got that idea from?!! Could it have been from the only guy who saw the chick flick the night before??!! We arrived at the track and got our motorbikes off and went a few laps around the track. Then Glen taught us how to jump the tabletop, which was awesome, and he gave us thumbs up!

Jake had a rest and then went on the 4-wheelers. About 2.30pm we packed up went home. On the way home I fell asleep and Dad went around every roundabout about 6 times – thanks Micka!! Every time my dad sees a roundabout now, we have to go around it at least 6 times before he moves on!

When we were nearly home we rang mum and tricked her by saying it would be another 2 hours before we’d be home. Another one of Micka’s ideas… She wasn’t very impressed!

We all had a great time and met lots of lovely people. Thanks Challenge for giving us the opportunity to go on this fun Motorbike Camp.

Challenge would like to thank Macca and Jarrod for their patience and wonderful ways with the kids and to everyone at the Outtrim Track for making it possible for us to hold this very popular.

To Kate Edwards and her family at the Inverloch Holiday Park – we are indebted to you for your incredible kindness and generosity. The Park is fantastic and if anybody wants a great holiday, we very highly recommend it!

We had borrowed a bike trailer from the next door neighbour, but unfortunately didn’t have a spare for it, and wouldn’t you know it, an hour into the drive, the trailer tyre blew!!

We got sorted with a new tyre along the way and made it to the Holiday Park in Inverloch by 7pm.

We unloaded the trailer in a safe place and got settled into the cabin we’d been allocated. Then it was time for our pizza dinner, and some of the kids had a play on the playground before heading back to our cabins for a good night’s sleep – we’d need it!

We were all up and tucking into breakfast by 8am the next morning, before heading off to the motorbike track, where we met the coaches Jarrod and Glen, or “Macca”. They were super cool motocross champions and got us to firstly walk the track so we would be aware of puddles and ruts.

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popular petting zoo. Those cute little guinea pigs would certainly have slept well that night! Add in the art and craft activities, cooking and Alyssa’s fun range of games and activities to get the heart rate up, and we had an afternoon with so much to do that no one had a chance of being bored or homesick!

Plenty of dinner was needed to fill tummies after such a jam-packed day, and having eaten as much as we could, everyone headed up to the recreation room to watch a show by Challenge’s very own “Timbadim”. Tim got the crowd going with a special brand of magic and entertainment and he finished up by setting one of the leaders alight which demanded a huge round of applause! Although everyone was hyped up, the day’s activities meant we had an exhausted group of kids who drifted off to

Camps

When you take a group of kids on camp who are aged 8 or under, with some not quite 4-years-old yet, there are bound to be plenty of nervous parents waiting to say goodbye! The first Junior Camp of 2009 proved no exception, but it was great to see so many happy kids waving goodbye to mums and dads from the bus windows!The brand new Monkey Mania Indoor Play Centre at Docklands was eagerly awaiting our arrival and was very ready for us, stocked full of slides and tunnels, a jumping castle and a huge play maze complete with plastic ball shooters, poised to attack any unsuspecting victim wandering past! Control was required to get both kids and leaders to share the guns they were so much fun! Going down the slides on your belly also proved to be popular.

After a quick lunch we headed off to Camp Manyung, our home for the remainder of the weekend. Some initial explorations unearthed a jumping castle and flying fox as well as the very

sleep the moment their heads hit the pillow.

Many leaders took the opportunity to socialise with other leaders, given that their kids were all tucked into bed early, but that didn’t necessarily pay off when their kids were bright eyed and raring to go at 6am the following morning!

Sunday’s entertainment continued to flow with more games, a special surprise of costumes for all the kids, Crazy Pete’s magic and trickery, police car and fire truck rides and some magnificent face painting that transformed kids into animals and in one case an animal into a kid!

Parents started arriving around lunch time to enjoy lunch with the kids and leaders and while the energy levels were starting to diminish, there was just enough time to show the no-longer-worried mums and dads around camp before the weekend came to an end.

Thank you to everyone involved in making Junior Camp possible, particularly the wonderful hard working volunteers, without whom we would not be taking any kids away!

We look forward to Junior Camp 2!

Dear Challenge,Thank you for a great time at camp we had soooo much fun!

We also made some new friends, (hello to Angelina). My favourite bit was the flying fox. Isabella liked feeding the animals. THANKS CHALLENGE!

Camps

at Junior Camp 1Jumping for Joy

Having a ball at Junior Camp

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money, money, money, moneyFUnDRaIsInG

meRle the peaRlWhen long time friend of Challenge Merle Pizaro wanted to do something special for Challenge she decided to have her head shaved and raise some funds in the process.

So, on a not so fine Sunday in March a fundraiser was held at Bundoora Park to raise money for Challenge.

The biggest part of the fundraiser was obviously to shave her head, but Merle did much more than that organising a sausage sizzle and some fantastic raffles and donations too. Although the weather was a bit ordinary the crowd was certainly not and managed to raise an incredible amount.

Thank-you to everyone who attended the fundraiser, bought raffle tickets, donated cash and donated items for the raffle! And of course many thanks to Merle- you really are a pearl!

passIonate patRysPatrys Limited, a Melbourne-based biotechnology company developing new treatments for cancer, recognises the critical role played by Challenge in the here and now. To help us, Patrys has committed to a long-term alliance with Challenge.

The first initiative is Patrys-Challenge cycling jerseys, specially designed and made by leading Australian sportswear firm Scody, anyone donating $150 to Challenge will receive a jersey.

With the help of Middletons law firm these are available right now and are available in all sizes. So all you bike riders make a donation and obtain a jersey ph 03 9329 8474 or visit www.challenge.org.au.

stICCa to ‘em

When Darren Sticca’s daughter was diagnosed, some of his

mates put their heads together and thought about what they

could do to help out. Right before the chilly Melbourne winter

the boys got together and raised money for Challenge by shaving

it all off and going completely bald!

Julian, Lewis, Alex, Johnny, Roger, Damien and Daniel were all

helped along with the nimble clipper skills of Arthur at Arthur

Knight Hairdressing.

Darren’s 10 month old daughter Lara is currently being treated

and we are so grateful for the boys efforts in raising funds for us.

One thing we notice here at Challenge is that when a child is diagnosed, many people in the community step up to really help us to help our families. Sometimes the support from friends, family and the community is overwhelming. It really is amazing what people can achieve when they fundraise for Challenge

the GReat hoRnsby

Grant Hornsby has been running

competitively since age 12, originally in

Triathlon where he was a state representative

and more recently in long distance running,

in particular, the Marathon. Grant has an

extensive background in Exercise Science

and worked for 5 years with some of

Australia’s elite athletes.

So, in October 2007, Grant began a 12

month training program specifically designed

to allow him to complete in the 2008

Melbourne Marathon for Challenge. Despite

stress fractures in both legs, tendonitis and numerous other injuries,

Grant made it to the start line, however failed to finish with 2km to go.

So in true fighting spirit, he began training 3 weeks later for the

Canberra Marathon. Grant spent many hours dedicating 6 sessions a

week and up to 120km running. To his credit and tenacity he not only

completed the marathon but raised much needed funds for Challenge.

Grant would like to thank all of those who kindly donated and to share

his gratitude with his Chiro, Physio, Masseur and Dietician who helped

get him across the line. Well done Grant

Yee Haw at Hamilton Camp

Up and away at Junior Camp

Grand Prix action with Murph!

An ace time at AAMI Classic

Hi Mum!

Getting air at Motorbike Camp!

Creative juices flow at Monash

Mini Straughnie

We love our laptops

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A neighbourly visit to RCH!

Grab the gold and run

Glamour at Diamonds Dinner

Dannii brings the X-Factor!

‘Punter’ likes all ball games!

Smiles all round

Millsy drops by the RCH

She’s Apples!

Zac at the State of Origin!

Learning tennis from the best

Wet and wild at Waterskills!

Braving the heat at Sports Camp

Nice ears Coops

Motoring magic

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Keeping Cancer at Bay FUnDRaIsInG

SYC Social Committee, members and club staff such great results could not be achieved.

SYC and Challenge would like to thank all who participated in this event and donated their time and effort into making this event such smooth sailing.

SYC Commodore, Philip Burn and Social Committee President, Robyn Coombs, present Dave Rogers with the funds raised.

This annual event hosted by Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC) is part of the sailing calendar for those participating in the “Range Race Series”.The last race of the 2008/09 series, saw 152 boats from around the bay participate in a great day of sailing whilst also raising money for Challenge.

SYC’s amazing result in fund raising was a combination of race entry fees for the day’s sailing, raffle tickets, cooking fortnightly BBQ’s for club Twilight sailors and selling casual tickets for those wanting to enjoy the celebrations after sailing on the day. This year’s event saw SYC raising significant funds for Challenge – thanks guys!

Following an afternoon’s racing, sailors returned to dry land to partake in a free sausage sizzle and some beverages and let loose with some live entertainment. This year guests danced the night away to the band Pure Logic who were fantastic!

Many thanks go to Challenge volunteers who did a great job manning the BBQ. Without the continued support of the

Grazia!When you bring three great organisations together it makes for a “hole” lot of fun and a golf bag full of money!!Earlier this year, the Italian Golf Association in conjunction with the Australian PGA held their annual Pro Am at the Northern Golf Club, with all of their efforts culminating in a donation to support Challenge.

The Italian Golf Association Melbourne (IGA) was established in October 1972 to encourage and promote the sport of golf amongst the Italian community in Melbourne.

Upon arrival at the 2009 Pro Am, the more senior members of the club could be found cooking up a feast, and heading towards Registration each guest received their La Manna

Direct goodie bag, full of fantastic treats, including some delicious fresh fruit.

The golf course had suffered from a lack of water over summer, but that only improved the golf of the many hackers out on the course!

The contrast was vast between the professionals, all practicing diligently, and the average IGA member enjoying the hospitality that was on offer. After a very average day on the course, it was time for dinner and a small auction, along with the largest raffle ever seen.

Congratulations to everyone involved. Challenge is extremely honoured to have been given the opportunity to be involved and the monies raised will assist greatly in providing support to children and families.

I wish Mum would stop putting make up on us

Quad’s of fun!

Johno always smiles for Challenge

Hands up if you love Playgroup

Brittany & Michala

Life in the fast lane

Elle brings the gold

Ready to rumble

Fun in the sun at Allenby Golf Day

A visit from Dannii

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FUnDRaIsInG

By Carol Arklay

RegisteR now

www.biggestaussiepienight.com

It’s easy as PIE!

For ideas for your own and to register your Biggest Aussie Pie event visit www.biggestaussiepienight.com

Start planning now!

FUnDRaIsInG

our

BiggestAugust is now the month where people should take up the “Challenge” and hold a Biggest Aussie Pie night / afternoon / breakfast (if that takes your fancy!).

Aussie Pie NightWe did and decided to make the afternoon party a footy themed one, with the house decorated in footy team colours. We even asked all of our guests to wear their beloved football team’s jumper and scarf!

For a $10 donation (byo drink and plate) we had a very successful afternoon, with over 90 people attending. We held raffles, a silent auction, live auction, handball competitions and gave out a prize for the best dressed footy supporter.

We were very lucky to have ‘Half Cat’ (the Geelong Football Club Mascot) attend and stir up all the guests who barracked for rival teams and he only occasionally sprayed the odd Collingwood supporter – bad pussy! We had such a great day that we held two more pie nights and encouraged friends to hold their own.

We found it a great way to catch up with friends and raise much-needed funds for Challenge. Our day was made more successful by donations from local business and clubs after telling them about what Challenge does.

We had plenty of prizes and auctions items donated, including movie tickets donated by Village Cinemas and dinner vouchers kindly donated by local clubs and Four ‘N Twenty even came to the party with some pies for our guests, all of which helped make our day a great success raising $4500.00.

So don’t hesitate! Join the “Challenge” and hold your own Biggest Aussie Pie Night, either this year or next.

It doesn’t even have to be in August…

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hospItal happenInGshospItal happenInGs

By Rachel from Trading Faces

Our usual favourites have been ever present and with a swag of new faces around the ward enjoying their services, Challenge have continued to put smiles on dials. Krispy Kreme, Trampoline and Trading Faces have an even larger fan base due to the wonderful goods and services they provide. Our parent dinners have also been a monthly success thanks to the tasty tucker provided by Anthony at So Fresh and Andrew Martin.

Despite a slower start to the season than usual, our Melbourne Storm buddies didn’t miss a beat at Easter time, assisting many little bunnies make Easter baskets loaded with chocolatey goodness. Cooper and Steve looked completely at home covered in glue, texta and glitter as they cut and pasted 20+ baskets!

Since the last magazine so many things have happened in the hospital that it would seem we need a whole new magazine just so we can write about it all!

the country just weeks later. Thanks Kym for your time and awesome gift!

We often get requests from kids wanting to meet footy players, but rarely for any from interstate teams. Apparently there is only one champion footballer in Adelaide these days – #7 Nathan van Berlo. The Adelaide Crows midfielder made a stop off at the RCH to visit Jack who is a huge fan. It was nice to see Jack smile when he met his favourite player and we really appreciated Nathan taking time out of his busy Melbourne stopover to visit.

Danni Minogue dropped in to say g’day and met a few excited kids (and parents!). When she sat down next to Shaun for a quick happy snap, Shaun didn’t know where to look as there were so many people trying to capture the happy snap (truth be told neither did Danni)! It was great to see Danni weave her magic and spend some time with us in the lead up to the Logies.

Another special guest was young Mollie, who for most of last year watched her little sister undergo treatment and then a transplant. Mollie knows just how much support and distraction the patients and siblings need while they’re in hospital, so this amazing 10 year old sat with some kids to make gorgeous jewellery pieces for Mother’s Day. Thank you Mollie for offering your wonderful services, you did a brilliant job!

There are no bigger names in football than Matthew Lloyd and Brad Johnson (except for Robert DiPierdomenico – that’s a big one!) Lloydy came in to visit Nick with a few words of footy wisdom and wished him luck on his road to recovery, while the ever-smiling Brad Johnson popped in to see Molly and her family when they were having a tough time and really boosted their spirits. Congratulations to Brad on achieving the milestone of most games played for the “Mighty Dogs” and good luck in the finals.

Thank you so much to everyone who has helped Challenge to make hospital a nicer place to be in the last few months.

Be sure to tackle Micka in the hallways if you need anything (don’t tackle him too hard, he is very delicate you know!) and of course Challenge will do what we can to make it happen.

Trading Faces has been proudly supporting Challenge for many years now, and over the past five years we have become even more involved, by providing pampering to the parents in the ward.

A couple of special guests visited the ward to boost spirits and what an amazing job they did. Kym Valentine, known as the very popular Libby on Neighbours, walked off set to come and say hi on the very day she had filmed her wedding on the show. Chantelle was the lucky recipient of a special wedding program that was seen on TV sets around

Once a month, armed with massage oil and nail polish, we send two girls along to give the parents some much needed “escape time”. Although shoulder massages and painting fingernails are small gestures, the opportunity allows parents to leave their child’s bedside for a few minutes to relax and chat with other parents who may share some of the same issues that they are dealing with themselves.

We love the chance to spend time with the parents and kids each month, as it offers us a great deal of satisfaction to ‘give’ to the parents and children. After each hospital visit

we come back to work and realise that our silly little problems are just that – silly little problems!

These visits really allows us to put our lives into perspective. We admire the strength and courage of these families and the way they continue on bravely through their journey. Some live miles away from the hospital, have other children at home and continue to run businesses and households, while we struggle to even get to work on time!

We can’t even begin to imagine the stress these families are under and we feel so fortunate to be able to take the load off their very tight shoulders, if only for a few minutes.

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hospItal happenInGs

MoNAsh

If you’re ever wondering what events are coming up at Challenge, just check out the Challenge flyers displayed in the Monash play room. Feel free to ask Sonia about each event or camp as she would love to tell you about it. As always Sonia has a portable DVD player, PSP’s and games for the children to borrow whilst in outpatients or on the ward. Challenge provides a rotating library of DVD’s and PlayStation games, so let Sonia know if you have any requests

Challenge has recently bought some new board games for the children to enjoy whilst at Monash, and they have also been popular in providing a great way to pass the time.

Krispy Kreme has increased their support (if that was possible!) by donating scrumptious doughnuts every month to the families at Monash. Everyone is very excited when they see the boxes arrive and can’t wait to enjoy them for morning tea. Thanks to Krispy Kreme for their ongoing support.

We have a new mosaic mural for everyone to come on board and help complete. One of our talented mums has drawn a wonderful beach scene so please come and join in. It will be great to display it when it has been finished. The walls of the

play room are always full of fantastic artwork created by the children and

parents. Our recent theme ‘Our Family’ was embraced by everyone drawing their families and houses and pets.

Footy fever was in the air as the children showed their dedication to

their favourite team or teams. Our footy wall is always a topic of

discussion as the children sign their support on their favourite footy colours.

Looking forward to lots more fun and smiles at Monash.

MADNess

aCtIvItIes

ChallenGe

playGRoUp

Challenge Playgroup is held every Thursday at Challenge House between 10am – 12 noon for children aged between 2 and 5 years old. It provides a great opportunity for the children to engage in kinder activities in a safe environment during treatment and once it has finished. Our door is always open to welcome new families.

Our sessions offer a variety of activities including painting, pasting, play doh, hand prints, construction sets and more. The children love playing together on the slide and tunnel. Playgroup provides an opportunity for the children to take turns and share the equipment, and to socialise with their peers. The children feel comfortable to play in our environment which helps develop their confidence and independence. It also allows the parents some time to catch up with other parents in a similar situation and share experiences.

Over the last couple of months the children have participated in some special days. The children have pampered their mums in a special Mother’s Day session. The children spoilt their mums with a foot soak, foot massage, hand cream and fantastic choices of colours for nail polish. It certainly looks like we have some beauticians in the making! We had a teddy bear day with the children bringing their favourite teddy for teddy activities, songs and ‘a bear hunt’ and also enjoyed a dress-up day with lots of

princesses, fairies, Ben 10, an Indian, Dora the Explorer and Tinkerbell.

We were all treated to a wonderful outing at Daydreamers Indoor Play Centre. Lisette and Eleena spoilt us all with a private session of fun. The children played constantly on the inflatable slide, climbing maze, play house, cars and more, whilst the parents had a coffee and enjoyed watching the smiles on their faces. Thank you Lisette and Eleena, for opening your centre to us again.

We have celebrated many birthdays of our Playgroup kids, and the sound of us singing “Happy Birthday” brings all the staff running to join in the party. There is always a smorgasbord of home made cakes, slices and more to enjoy over a cappuccino or baby chino.

We welcome all new families to come along and join us at Playgroup any Thursday during the school term. It is a lovely relaxed family environment so please bring along siblings to join in as well.

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aCtIvItIesaCtIvItIes

& play Day By Anna Page

splashEvery year the opportunity to dress up as a pirate comes around for Challenge kids, with an invitation to attend our Williamstown Boat Day.

Through the support of the Point Gellibrand Rotary Club, the Rotarians, the Royal Victorian Motor Yacht Club and the ever-reliable and faithful Mick Trezise of Williamstown Charters, Challenge is able to host our families for a day of high-seas and treason (more treason than high-seas really!)

With two treacherous boat trips out to collect our chest of treasure, the ensuing water-bomb battle with those pesky pirates (that somehow always manage to know exactly where we are) is one that is nearly as big as the AFL Grand Final.

It must be said, however, that mutiny is on some of the passengers’ minds, leaving very little bombing needing to be done by the pirates (where does Dave Rogers hide all of those water-bombs?!)

While back ashore, it’s chips ahoy for the mums and dads, with plenty of rum (actually it’s more a coke from the bar!), music from our dynamic duo Rachel and Dave and a smorgasbord that you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else (ok, maybe at Sizzler!)

Once our intrepid adventurers find their sea legs back on shore, they line for miles to mask themselves, with the help of a couple of our best face painters, who create masterpieces.

In any pirate story there is a hero and in ours, the hero is definitely Mick Trezise. For the past 10 years, Mick has given of his time freely, not only with our annual Williamstown Boat Day (which I think he enjoys almost more than the kids!) but also in offering his boat

and skipper-services to take our dads out fishing each year. Sometimes when we have a special request to take a family fishing he even puts his hand up to help with that!

Mick’s dedication and commitment to the Challenge organisation can simply not be expressed in words. He does an amazing job for us with our programs, but his assistance with our fundraising efforts does not go unnoticed either and we can never say thank you enough times.

But we’ll try anyway – thanks Mick and see you on the high-seas next year!

The weather was perfect and there was not a cloud in the sky. What a great day to be going to Adventure Park I say!

Next, Mum informed us that it was time for lunch. So we followed our noses to the delicious smells of the sizzling barbeque. Yum! That filled the spot. We had to leave after lunch as I was getting tired, so I was disappointed that I didn’t get to challenge Micka on the Aqua Racer, for sure I would have won!

I would just like to thank Challenge for organising such a fantastic day. I had so much fun and I am certainly looking forward to the next event.

I was keen to get straight into things but where to start? Paddle boats? Archery? The Aqua Racer? Or Mini Golf? We eventually agreed on the River Torrent. What a great, relaxing ride to kick start the day, although I don’t think my sister Sarah quite understood the concept of the donuts and she kept falling off.

Wee Willy boat Day

After that we went and explored Bonitos Bay. Unbeknown to us we were standing under a massive bucket of water that soaked us. After the initial shock of being saturated we amused ourselves on the mini water slides. We then journeyed over to the big yellow and green water slides. Unfortunately the yellow slide wasn’t open at the time, so we tackled the green slide with our rubber donut in hand and away we went, screaming from start to finish.

Land ahoy maties

Splashdown!

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There was a food area outside the rooms, a sleep room, a games room and a movies room. There was lots of great food to eat and soft drinks, but when it got later there was just water - wise decision!

In the games room they had car racing games, 2 dance machines, 2 Nintendo Wiis, 2 Xboxes, 2 PlayStations, 2 air hockey tables, 2 pinball machines and a jumping castle - that was definitely enough to keep everyone occupied!

The movie marathon started at 9.30pm and the movies on offer were Monsters vs. Aliens, Night at the Museum 2, The Fast and the Furious 4 and Wolverine. They were all great movies and you could sit in a beanbag with a bag of popcorn to watch!

During the night we could get our faces painted or get a henna tattoo, which heaps of kids did and they looked great. Crazy Pete, a really cool magician, also stopped by and entertained groups of us for hours with his cool, but frustration magic!

Then there was the visit by two Collingwood players, Tyson Goldsack and Jack Anthony, which heaps of the kids loved – especially those who barracked for the Pies! The guys stayed a while and played some Guitar Hero and we could get a photo with them or an autograph.

The sleeping room was a huge room where you put you mattresses and sleeping bags if you wanted to sleep. Stella and I didn’t go in that room once. In my opinion there is no point sleeping, just have fun!

Wolverine finished at about 5 o’clock in the morning and Stella and I were so tired. There was 3 hours to go. We sat in the movie room for a while and almost fell asleep but we made a promise to ourselves that we would not sleep at all!

Breakfast was served around 7am and there was a huge variety of foods to choose from. There were sausages, eggs, toast, cereal, orange juice and a heap more! After breakfast Stella and I went to pack up our bags. Some kids were so tired that they fell asleep while packing their bags!

It was an awesome night and I’ll definitely be back next year!

By Laura Hebb

(and nigHtS!)Happy DayS

There was a massive line in the foyer of the Grand Ballroom when we arrived at the Hilton on the Park – Melbourne on a cold Sunday night in June. We were at the Hilton for the Challenge Slumber Party, to kick start our school holidays with about 300 other kids!It was my first Challenge Slumber Party; in fact it was really the first Challenge activity I’d been to. I was so exited because I was allowed to take a friend and I chose Stella.

We put our bags in a room near the lifts and lined up. It took a while to get to the front of the line and when we did we signed in and went to have a look at the rooms.

Rocking out on Guitar Hero aCtIvItIes

Collingwood players Jack Anthony and Tyson Goldsack stop by

Hiltonat the

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Parent suPPort

the Parent suPPort Programovercome this, Challenge holds regional brunches in a number of country areas, to bring together women who are sharing a similar journey. They meet in their own town, or one nearby, and are able to meet and talk to other mums about their experiences. The idea is that this will then help mums to connect with other mums in their local community to form support networks of their own, with people who truly understand.

Typically, Challenge mums put themselves last and their children and family first. When we notice that a parent could really benefit from a little pampering, we offer complimentary massages, facials, haircuts and colours, both in private salons and at the Royal Children’s Hospital, thanks to Trading Faces and Masci Hair & Spa. This gives mums a boost, which can in-turn give them a bit more energy to face the next stage of their journey.

If you wish to find out more about these services just ask Micka or Sonia, or call Margaret at the Challenge office.

Thank you so, so much for such a wonderful Mums’ Retreat in March. Everything was thought of, down to the very fine details of the up to date women’s magazines and tissues in the bathroom!

Being a mother of a child with Downs Syndrome and now Leukaemia, I found it pretty difficult to initially relax and my phone was my constant companion. But after we were treated to a massage and facial in Torquay, I started to unwind and was able to whole-heartedly enjoy the weekend away without checking my phone every five minutes.

The weather was truly beautiful, enhancing the walk along the beach; the food was divine and the company, inspirational. I returned home relaxed, refreshed and more able to cope with the constant pressures of being a carer. Importantly too, my family coped really well without me!

Thank you also for looking after Edward so well on the Trevor Barker Sports Camp and Waterskills Camp – he had an absolute ball.

Like many families we have been unable to go away on holiday, so it was wonderful that Edward didn’t have to miss out and was made to feel special. It is so important that the siblings are taken care of too and you certainly achieved this.

I can’t thank you enough Challenge, for all you have done and I know you will continue to do for our family whilst Nicky continues with another two years of chemo. Micka always puts a smile on Nicky’s face no matter how sick he is feeling and hopefully, one day he too will be able to join Micka on camp.

We look forward to being part of the Challenge family for many years to come, both as recipients and volunteers.

By Lynette CurtisMum’s TravelsSeptember 2008 was when Challenge first walked into the life of my daughter Jordyn and I could never have imagined the impact they would have on our lives during Jordyn’s journey.

My first introduction to Challenge was seeing Micka in action at the RCH. What I saw was an incredibly enthusiastic and compassionate young man able to communicate with the smallest of babies to teenagers like my daughter.

Clearly Challenge has insiders, those who have walked the steps we are currently walking. This is demonstrated in the care, consideration and attention to detail in all the interactions and activities offered by the Challenge team.

Understandably Jordyn was reticent to attend her first camp; surfing at Lorne. However with some skilful coercion she jumped on board and has never looked back. More recently she participated in the Waterskills Camp at Mt Eliza – what a blast! She was blown away with the fun and frivolity. She has met and developed friendships with some super kids and now she will never miss an opportunity to join in.

On the other side of the fence, I had the pleasure of attending the Mums’ Christmas Lunch held at Yering Station in December. It was with some trepidation that I walked in the door, not knowing a soul and feeling not so confident about how I would be able to hold it all together and not embarrass myself. As is the case with most worrying however, it was purposeless.

I met several other mums who were just like me! Whatever disease your child may be going through or have gone through, the same emotions apply. We cannot care enough for our children and would gladly swap positions with them.

For me, I was keen to speak with other mums about what to expect during the journey our family is making.

I met some wonderfully warm and friendly ladies including our charming host Margaret. To top it all off we tasted the most delectable culinary delights and fine wines. The weather could not have been worse, it was very cold, wet and blustery, yet the views across the Yarra Valley were enchanting.

I then received an invite to the Mums’ Retreat at Torquay in March. Our hosts were Margaret and Sue, two ladies who have wonderful skills and know just when to get involved and when to sit back. Well done to you both, you know how to dish out the treats!

Let me tell you just how difficult it was to cope with this weekend. First off, to the Pampering Palace. The massage and facial saw me float out the door in a clearly relaxed state. After some refreshing coffee we were off for a spot of shopping and guess who benefited from this? Yes, mostly our children! By then we were clearly in need of further caloric infusion, so we tucked into more food and a touch more shopping.

After we’d had our fill, we were chauffeured to our digs, a lovely homely residence right on the beach at Torquay. It was the perfect location for our afternoon beach walk. An hour or so later some of us (well maybe one of us) managed to get lost in the sand hills. After that drama, we were treated to relaxing “feet-up” time, whilst our evening meal was being skillfully prepared by two wonderful chefs. The weekend just got better and better, I could have been served baked beans and would have been delighted not to cook! The food was delicious; we had way too much and rolled to our beds after three delicious courses.

Sunday allowed us to do as we pleased and gave us a chance to relax before we travelled to a mystery location for another divine meal and great company.

My thanks seem so inadequate, but thank you anyway, to Margaret, Sue and Challenge for your wonderful generosity. The value of our weekend is still with me.

Parent suPPort

In the DetaIls By Kate Cobbold

The Parent Support program came about by speaking to parents, listening to their needs and understanding what a family needs when it is thrown into a crisis situation after their child is diagnosed with cancer. The programs are tailored to meet the ever-growing and vastly different needs of families as a whole.

Home Help can be of assistance when going home to a load of housework after a long stay in hospital is the last thing anyone needs and all parents want to do is spend time together with their kids. Challenge offers families to access hours of domestic support, from an accredited home care service, who will organise to visit and undertake some light domestic cleaning, ironing, or simple meal preparation.

The Mums’ Relaxation Retreats offer a weekend seaside escape, to rest and recharge the batteries with some much needed time-out. These weekends are held regularly throughout the year and mums are treated to a massage and facial, some fine dining, retail therapy, relaxing down-time to chat or walk on the beach. The groups are small and everything is catered for.

Living a long distance from the hospital can lead to feelings of isolation for some of our regional families. To help

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Parent suPPort Parent suPPort

We were up early for breakfast before teeing off at the local golf course. We hit off in groups of 4 on a course that had water traps on each hole. Surprisingly some of the best hits came from the dads that had never played before. By 8.30am the temperature was already climbing into the high 30’s so it was great to see the drinks buggy track us down on the course. Golf finished by 11, with the course claiming more than 20 balls in the water traps!

Back at camp on the Murray River, the thermometer had peaked at 50, so we took it out of the sun and it lowered to 48 - not a great difference but we counted it as a win! Most of us just jumped straight into the river to cool down.

After lunch we boarded two boats and headed upstream to ski, knee board or simply float down-stream back to the house. It was great to see first time skiers have a go. Amazingly, we saw the moon in the middle of the day! For those of us who floated

back to the house, the catch cry (taken from penguins in Madagascar) was ‘smile and wave boys’ as we passed the campers along the river.

The heat kept most of us in the water all day, only to be lured out with the promise of another night of great food and drinks. The guitar came out and a few songs, jokes and poems kept the night ticking along well.

Sunday morning saw us back at the golf course, floating down the river or having another crack at water skiing, depending on the energy levels. After lunch we jumped back on the bus to head home. It was amazing that a few of the dads didn’t remember going through Echuca on Friday night, must have been sound asleep…

Thank you to Challenge, Dave, Richard and the other hosts for such a great weekend.

So join us on our next adventure, You’re sure to crack a smile, Even though the location Will NOT be Gilligan’s Isle!

The dads all met at Challenge House and piled into the bus with their skipper brave and sure (that’s me!). We were off on a “3 hour tour” (!), but the weather was hot and the drinks were cold, and the tiny ship was rockin’. What goes in must come out, so after a few stops we eventually arrived in Mathoura 5 hours later (not quite because the weather was rough and the tiny ship was lost!).

But the bus trip was just another part of this tale…

We were greeted by our hosts, led by Richard McKay (let’s call him “The Millionaire”), who had cooked dinner and put the drinks on ice for the weary castaways.

After a quick introduction to the team we chowed down on the feast they had prepared. The warm night and the cold drinks saw us through until the early hours of the next morning.

DuC(DaD’s ultImate Challenge)

Club By Alan Witton

One of the most asked

questions by Challenge mums

on behalf of their husbands, is

“what do the dads do when

they go away together?”

The simple answer is that they

have an opportunity to play

golf, enjoy a spot of fishing,

and whatever other activities

might be planned for the

weekend, but that they are

able to do them with other

Challenge dads, who may

understand some of what they

are going through.

Do they talk about their kids?

If they want to, but this is

not the focus of the weekend

or of any other dad’s activity.

So, if you’re a Challenge dad

and you’re invited to a DUC

Club activity, the hardest part

is picking up the phone and

calling Challenge to RSVP. Do

it though, and we can promise

you won’t regret it.

Just Sit Right Back and

You’ll Hear a Tale…

Beating the heat

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My favourite part of the day though, was actually getting to meet some of the players! I got to meet Stanislas Wawrinka, Marcos Baghdatis and Carlos Moya. They were all really nice and friendly, signing autographs for us and posing for photos.

Thanks Challenge for taking me along – I had a great time.

Challenge would like to thank Marie Kelly and Colin Stubbs for making this opportunity possible for our kids once again in 2009.

out In the CommunItY

The AAMI ClassicBy Bec Jago

I had been desperate to see the musical Wicked, so I was thrilled when Challenge rang and asked if I wanted to see it with them. Of course I said yes and a few days later I was off to see the show that everyone had been talking about.

By Louis Croughan

I had a great day, thanks Challenge for the opportunity.

Challenge would like to thank the wonderful Mrs. Elaine Marriner and all at Marriner Theatres, for helping us to provide so many wonderful opportunities for kids and families to attend the Wednesday matinee sessions of Wicked.

Special thanks also to Rob Mills for offering to act as tour guide and making it possible for us to show some of the kids around backstage, along with the other cast members who gave up their time to say hi.

We do believe we have been changed for the better!

out In the CommunItY

I was lucky enough to be invited by Challenge to attend the AAMI Classic tennis tournament at Kooyong.I had a great time watching the tennis as there were some very close and exciting matches! The event had the best of the best males playing, headed up by Roger Federer. Other players included Marcos Baghdatis, Marin Cilic, Stanislas Wawrinka, Marat Safin, Fernando Gonzalez, Fernando Verdasco and Carlos Moya.

GearinG Up for Grand prix action

I absolutely loved the show. It was amazing and I didn’t want it to end! But there was more after the show…

We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to go backstage and meet one of the cast members. We met Lucy Durak who plays Glinda the Good Witch. She was really nice and spoke to us about the performance. She then signed our program and we got a photo with her. It was a privilege to be able to meet her as she is an amazing performer and really helped to make the show so fantastic.

After we said goodbye to Lucy we were taken on a tour of the backstage area, checking out the thousands of costumes that are worn in Wicked – I couldn’t believe how many there were. We then got to walk onto the stage where they perform and see all the trap doors, props and other things they use for special effects.

We even got to hold the sacred wand!

finally made it to gate 2 to meet Dave, and were very glad to see it because our feet were starting to get sore!

The walking was worth it though because we had a great time hearing the cars roar and getting to actually walk right past them.

We met some other families that Challenge had also invited, and we all spent the day in a corporate marquee, with all the food and drink we could handle! Everyone was really nice and we were all excited to see the cars and drivers. I can honestly say we had the best position on the track,

which was awesome! We met a lovely lady named Lois, who Dave said organised everything for us. We said thanks a lot of times to her, and even more to Doug, the man who owns the marquee and had it built especially. He even has his own golf cart to get around on!

My favourite part was when we all got to meet Mark Winterbottom, the V8 racer for Ford. We took some photos with him and had a chat which was really great. Even better – he won the race that day!

Thank you Challenge very much for that day, my dad, brother and I we will cherish it for the rest of our lives.

This year’s Grand Prix was different to any other, with the main race being moved to late afternoon for a “Twilight” experience.Being a massive car fan, I was looking forward to watching the race on TV when Challenge called and asked if I would like to actually go to the track on the Saturday, meaning I would see the Formula 1 cars up close!

In some ways, the Saturday is even better than race day because you get to see everything and you see the F1’s twice. After an interesting trip on the wrong tram (!), we

By Jimmy Adams

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out In the CommunItY out In the CommunItY

A speciAl

By Mauro Ciavarella

visits Arden St.

collingwood MAscot

Challenge

Our beautiful boy Ethan was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of 7. In January 2008, he had not been well which led to an MRI, after which we were sent straight to the RCH where surgeons and doctors were waiting for our arrival to undertake an 8-10 hour brain surgery. They could only remove part of the tumour due to the danger of where the tumour is located, in the cerebellum. Ethan had to learn to walk and write again, among other things, but he was very courageous, strong and brave.

Ethan went on to have 15 months of chemotherapy, which helped to shrink the tumour.

Challenge has been very supportive of Ethan, and he and his brothers and sister have attended a few Challenge events. Challenge manages to make good things happen out of such a difficult situation.

One of these great moments was when Challenge organised for Ethan to run through the Collingwood banner at the Collingwood v Melbourne game at the MCG. On the morning of the game Ethan was very nervous, being a massive fan. When we arrived at the MCG, he was dressed for the occasion in the Pies uniform and was walked down to the ground by his dad Scott and big brother

Bailey, where he waited for his beloved Pies to come out. The rest of us watched with total excitement. Friends and family all came to the ground that day just to watch Ethan. I had messaged everyone and called family and friends so they would all see him on TV, running out with his idols.

Then the moment arrived where Ethan would run through the banner. The Captain of the Pies, Nick Maxwell tapped Ethan on the back and said to him, “come on Ethan, try and stay with me” which was their cue to start running. Ethan said he broke some of the banner before he ran a lap with the Pies and copied what they did. He was even given a piece of the banner to keep. When Ethan came back to our seats, he had a massive smile on his face that didn’t leave him all day. This would be something he would never forget.

Ethan had been told that if the Pies won the whole family could go down to the rooms to sing the club theme song, so with fingers crossed we watched the game. The Pies won, so off we went to sing. Eddie Maguire came up to the gate and got us all singing and offered cake to everyone.

Ethan had the best time and we just couldn’t believe our luck. It was definitely a once in a life time experience that our family will cherish forever. To see Ethan come so far, from not walking, to being able to run through the banner, was fantastic!

Thank You Challenge for everything.

By Yvette Robinson

One thing sometimes leads to another, and when Challenge Marketing Manager Sam McOrist recently took a phone call from Mazda about his own personal car, they asked whether he would be interested in joining a special afternoon of activities with the North Melbourne Football Club. Sam asked whether he could in-turn, offer the opportunity to some of the Challenge kids, to which Mazda happily agreed.

Thanks to their generosity, a small group of mad-keen Kangaroos supporting Challenge members got a special behind the scenes peek at mid-season training down at

Arden Street. Later that day, Coach Dean Laidley decided to hang up his coaching boots (hopefully it had nothing to do with our visit!)

Not only were we lucky enough to run around with some of the players from the Kangaroos Leadership Group, Captain Brent Harvey even took time to say hi. Unbeknown to us, we actually spent some time with the man who would soon become the new coach, Darren Crocker!

Thank you to Mazda and the North Melbourne Football Club for allowing our kids to spend some time with their heroes.

Challenge very kindly organised for my son Luke to toss the coin at the Carlton V Brisbane match earlier this year, as Luke is a mad keen Blues fan.Luke’s tumour has greatly affected his motor skills, so tossing a coin at the game in front of such a huge crowd, was going to be a massive achievement. To make sure it all went well, he and I practiced tossing a coin for days leading up to the big event.

Luke had it down-pat by the big day and I was so proud to see him do it perfectly. He loved tossing the coin and later watching it on TV and hearing it mentioned on radio stations Triple M and SEN.

For Luke to meet two of the biggest names in football, Chris Judd and Jonathon Brown, was an absolute highlight and something he will never forget.

Carlton winning was definitely a bonus and we went to the change rooms after the game to meet some of the players. Chris Judd took time out to have a photo taken with the kids which was great!

We spend the next day recovering from the adrenaline and excitement and still can’t believe it happened!

It was an experience that we will always remember, thanks to you Challenge, and to the Carlton Football Club and our friends at Hyundai who made the opportunity possible.

Carlton coin toss

Ethan at

the footy

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saw where the cast relaxes while waiting for their scene to start recording!

Throughout the day the cast get to choose their props for food and drinks and Kym got really excited when she received her prop for food because they were nachos and as we all know they’re delicious!

While we were there we met the actors who play Susan, Elle, Declan, Paul, Rebecca, Lucas, Stephanie, Toady and Donna. It was great to actually meet people who I see on television all the time.

Seeing Kym again was great and she was really impressed at how much better I looked.

Thank you so much Challenge, for making these opportunities possible for me, and to Kelly and Kym and all the guys on set at Neighbours, for giving me memories I will treasure forever.

Love thy

out In the CommunItYout In the CommunItY

By Tom Gleisner

Logieswith Lirinda

On Sunday 3rd May I was lucky enough to attend the TV Week Logie Awards with Challenge member Lirinda as my guest. I had been invited by Channel 7 in my role as judge on the new series of Thank God You’re Here and the network was kind enough to organise an extra ticket.

It took us about half an hour to get inside the Palladium where we found our table. Lirinda and I were seated with a group of Home and Away actors who were very friendly and more than happy to pose for photos with Lirinda. During commercial breaks we were able to move around the room and get other autographs from stars of shows such as Neighbours, Underbelly, Packed to the Rafters and So You Think You Can Dance. During the evening we also held a tipping competition at our table, with everyone trying to predict the winner of each category. Lirinda did a lot better than me, correctly guessing many of the ‘Most Popular’ categories, but the eventual winner of the tipping was one of the stars of Home and Away – I suspect she may have had inside knowledge.

I had a great night and I’m sure Lirinda did too – her camera was full of ‘celebrity shots’ and she got to meet a lot of her TV idols. A big thanks to Channel 7 and TV Week for organising the tickets and, of course, to Challenge for making the night possible.

Tom Gleisner is the Chairman of Challenge and has been making this opportunity possible for the last ten years. We thank him sincerely for his warmth and generosity and look forward to introducing him to next year’s “date” soon!

Thanks to Challenge Lirinda was given a new outfit for the evening, as well as having her hair and make up done in true awards night fashion. We met up, along with her parents and family at the Crown Entertainment Complex, the venue for the Logies.

The next step was negotiating the dreaded red carpet. Lirinda was

both nervous and excited as we worked our way through the star studded crowd. A few years ago I made the mistake of walking in behind Megan Gale and Andy Lee and was consequently noticed by no one! So this time we made sure that the only famous person in front of us was a Channel Nine weekend newsreader. There were lots of photographs taken and a few quick interviews, including one with a TV Week reporter.

Not long after I was diagnosed I got pretty sick and it was taking ages to start feeling better. Mum wanted to organise something to give me a boost, so she spoke to Challenge who arranged for my favourite celebrity, Kym Valentine, who plays Libby Kennedy on Neighbours, to come and visit me in hospital.Kym was really nice and even brought me the program from her on-screen wedding, which she had filmed that day. She made me promise to try really hard to get stronger and once I was, I could visit her on the set.

Well I worked my butt off because meeting Kym really did give me the boost I needed, and soon I was well enough for my big adventure with Mum to the Nunawading studio where Neighbours is filmed.

When we arrived, we met Kelly, who had come into hospital with Kym, and she gave us a tour of Global Studios. We saw the sets used for Charlie’s and Lou’s Café and even

NeighbourBy Chantelle Bates

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Reflections& thanksReflections& thanksDear Challenge,We would just like to say – IT’S OVER! Chloe has finished her two and a half years of chemotherapy and is a different kid. She now loves school – term 1 she hated it. We all love living up here in Queensland and not sure if we will come back anytime soon – or maybe for a holiday. Thank you for everything you did for us in our admissions, day stays, Queensland holiday, parties and our 2007 Christmas in hospital. You are not forgotten and if there is absolutely anything I can do for you up here it would be my honour. Thank you, Nick, Vanessa, Chloe and Stephen

Dear Challenge,I just wanted to say a huge thank you for tickets to go see WICKED! And for the fantastic time I had at Waterskills camp. The show was amazing and I’m so glad to have now seen it! The camp too was so much fun and I would definitely love to go to more, as this was my first. Thank you also for catering for the entire family, my younger brother Joe wants to go to camps now as well! Thank you again, Kelly

Dear Challenge,Just wanted to touch base and thank you and your team for such admirable efforts in catering for those of us that have the misfortune to need your wonderful work. With the misfortune comes the good fortune of coming into contact with such an incredible organisation and body of people. So on behalf of Olivia and myself an appreciative thank you, although it hardly seems adequate in relation to the immensity of your output.

To Micka and Margaret, individual thankyous for the huge imprint you have left on both Olivia and myself, having just the right words at the right time, you are unique humans. I am still reaping the rewards of Salon Visage, such a lovely treat, thanks again.

Rhonda

Dear Challenge,Ash didn’t stop talking about the camp all night! He had a blast, and he made new friends, thank you so much! He is already planning on going to the Motorbike Camp and the Slumber party. The transformation in him is unbelievable, he was complaining before the camp because he didn’t want to go and now he’s complaining that he has to wait until June for the Slumber Party! You guys do such a fantastic job, I can’t thank you enough.

Amy

Dear Challenge, On behalf of Lachie and Ash, thank you for a truly memorable day at the Grand Prix with Challenge & Nufarm. The highlight for the two guys was meeting the F18 pilots, the food and of course all the goodies provided including the table decoration!

David it was an absolute pleasure to meet Kerry, Doug and yourself, the dialogue shared with each of you crystallized a number of things going through my mind of late, this journey we are on is long and demanding, however with genuine caring people to share it with, it makes an enormous difference, believe me. I’m looking forward to meeting up again soon. Thank you Challenge & Nufarm – A great effort.

Rob

Dear Challenge,Thanks so much for the footy tickets; the boys had a great time, especially because North won! We are now heading to the Trevor Barker House in Torquay and are very excited to have some quiet family time away from normal daily life. Thank you again, Challenge seems to be the only organisation that is still supporting us and you pull out all the stops when you do. You guys are amazing and have made a huge impact on our family.Jo and Tony

Dear Challenge,So dad gets a call two days ago, from Dave Rogers, head of Challenge telling him his daughter just so happened to be picked out of a hat, to go on a Trip of a Lifetime!He said would you like to talk to your wife and get back to me? So dad said, no need, just send the letter! That night, he told me about the phone call and I cried. What Challenge does for sick kids, truly amazes me and I’m so incredibly grateful for every ounce of support my family and I have received. Thanks to Challenge, I’m happy again. I look forward to receiving the letter this week and going to special America meetings and of course, America with some of the greatest people I will ever know!Love Cyna

Dear Challenge,Just wanted to send a little thanks for allowing us to use the Trevor Barker house in Torquay. We had a brilliant time, we were lucky with the weather and had some fabulous days in the sun together. The house was great, excellent location, awesome facilities and it was just great to spend some time together as a family, which we really needed.

As I have mentioned before, you guys always seem to go above and beyond with whatever you do for the Challenge families and to think that we are still part of that family makes us feel very lucky. Thank you so much again, you guys are the best!

Jo, Tony, Natasha & Michael

Dear Challenge,

Until you have had a child or sibling on chemo at the Royal Children’s Hospital you have no idea what an isolating and limiting life your child and family has.

My second daughter had treatment and it was the support of Challenge that helped all the family by arranging outings, family activities, camps for these children and siblings to have fun that is more normal to the life they used to enjoy. Basically for the children on treatment hospital life is like living in a bubble, so far removed from every day living and Challenge gives the bridge to a little of the normal treats of every other family. Organising a simple picnic is something that is forgotten

CondolencesThe Challenge staff, families and volunteers have been deeply saddened by the loss of our much-loved members who have passed away since the production of our last magazine. We extend our deepest sympathies to the families of these children – our thoughts are with you.

Tiana Reidy

Molly Howlett

Kieran Stark

Rachael Egerton

Todd Bassett

Felicity Oates

Wendy Jiang

Layla Schilling

Chloe Rutherford

Brendan Cummins

Kellie Pratt

Sebastian Barnes-Hobson

Alex Mao

Luke Ciavarella

when you swap between home and hospital life.

Our family will always support Challenge because we appreciated their help to us when we needed it. Thank you for sharing this vital service with others.

Vicki

Dear Challenge,Just a note to thank you so much for organising my table of 10 last night. We all had so much fun! Especially thank you for allocating us to a table next to the dance floor!

Can’t wait till next year!

Maddie

Dear Challenge,Thank you for a fabulous evening last night. As with all Challenge events it was brilliantly organised.

Thank you again.

Kind regards, Lynne

Dear Challenge,What a wonderful evening – it is a real privilege to be able to support all the special women for Challenge. I was there with my special family and friends who also valued being able to offer their support and better understand the challenges faced by families and especially women of children with cancer. We look forward to being involved again next year! Sheryl

Dear Challenge,Thank you for letting me go on motorbike camp ’09. It was fun at motorbike camp. I had a wonderful time there. I learnt lots about motorbike riding. The food was awesome. When ever there is a motorbike camp, I would like to be there.From Jack

Dear Challenge,Thank you so much for providing us with a wonderful afternoon out at “Wicked” recently. The show was amazing, as was the opportunity to have a day out. We feel privileged to have received this very special treat, and most grateful for your generosity. We will remember this for years to come!! With a big, big thank you Christine & Scott

Dear Challenge,Wow the North Melbourne footy day was FANTASTIC. I was over the moon when I got to meet the players. It was one of the best experiences of my life, and one that I will definitely not forget.

Thank you so much for asking me to come.

XOXOX Sophie

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Letters to Leuk

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We just wanted to say thanks for making our time at the Challenge Slumber Party fun. We really enjoyed it and would definitely do it again!!! Thank You so much!

From Heidi and Katie

*Just a quick note to say a big Thank You to everybody at Challenge for organizing the tickets to Crusty Demons on Saturday night. Shane had a great time.

Thanks again, Pauline

*I am very thankful that you gave me Grand Prix tickets. I had a great time going to the pits and meeting Mark Winterbottom. Thanks also for the backpack filled with goodies. It was a fantastic day!

From Julian

*Yesterday I went to see Wicked with Mum. It was amazing! I really want to thank Challenge for organising it. Wicked was wicked.

Love Lucy

*Thanks so much for thinking of Bec for the Wicked show.

She absolutely loved it and was very proud of her signed program.

Regards Belinda

*Thanks so much for the tickets to Wicked! We had the best time, the seats were fantastic and the show was unbelievable!

Love Ashleigh and Kim

*Thanks for your support and loan of DVDs and play dough for the girls. It was a life saver and kept me sane, most of the time, while we were away from home. You guys really are fantastic.

Sally, Edie and Scarlett

*

Thank you so much for the tickets to wicked, it was so amazing! I loved it so much, so thank you!Sarah

*I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the tickets to The Veronicas on Wednesday. I’m so so so excited, I can not thank you enough!Love Cyna

*My first Challenge event was heaps of fun. I had a super duper time. I will be looking forward to the next event. Thanks heaps guys!

Anna

* Thanks for the Splash and Play day! It was the best fun!

Jordyn

*Thank you so much for the Splash and Play day. I had fun on the aqua racer (even though Micka cheated!)

Mel

*Thanks for taking my boys Liam and Cameron on Waterskills Camp last weekend. They came home bursting with tales of fun and games.

Jacqui

*Thank you for a fantastic day at the Adventure Park, Geelong. We all really enjoyed the opportunity to spend family time together and once again you provided that with this special experience.

Allison, Mark, Ted and Eliza

*My favourite thing was floating around. I wanted to stay in there forever. I loved all of it! It was awesome!

Love Ted

*I loved going under the water and straight in the slide. I loved jumping with Ted and Olivia.

Love Eliza

*

Thanks to all at Challenge for another wonderful day out. All we have heard about is pirates, water balloons and treasure. Edie and Scarlett had an absolute ball at the boat day while Anthony and I relaxed and shared experiences with new and old friends. A sincere thank you.

The Gales-Smith family

*I would like to say a giant thank you to everyone at Challenge. We attended a Splash and Play day at Adventure Park, Geelong a couple of weekends ago and we had never been there before. The kids, my husband and myself all had turns on the waterslide and my favourite were the tubes that float around. It was just ‘fantabulous’ according to my daughter Keeley. So thank you very much.

Chermeine

*Just a short note to say thank you for the tickets to the Hawthorn/Geelong match last Friday. Kyle had a wonderful time, even with Geelong winning! Kyle left hospital after his transplant on Grand Final day last year to watch his beloved Hawthorn beat Geelong. That day will always hold significance to us in the future. Thanks again.

Rooney family

*Thank you again for your generosity in letting us stay at the beach house in Torquay.

Brenton and family

*Just thought I’d let you know that we had an awesome time at WICKED. It was amazing. You guys are the best. Thanks a million.

Anna

*We just wanted to say a really big thank you for the Jason Mraz tickets. It was a really great night.

Phillip

*

Golf Day – Yarra Yarra Golf Club

One of Melbourne’s most prestigious golf clubs, boasting a

heritage listed Clubhouse and surrounds. Yarra Yarra is highly

regarded in the golfing community ranked in the top 25 golf

courses throughout Australia and is the original and spiritual

home of the Robert Allenby charity golf day.

Gala Dinner – Crown Palladium

Join more than 800 guests to experience a fantastic night of

fun, first class entertainment and high-quality main and silent

auction items, all complemented by outstanding food and

beverages designed to cap off a brilliant day on the course.

Monday 14th December, Yarra Yarra Golf Club

Challenge golf DaYrobert allenbY CharItY

For 15 years Robert Allenby has delivered the

best golf day in Australia. The 2009 event will

again provide participants with an opportunity

to play on one of the premium golf courses in

the country, alongside some of the world’s

best golfers, all in the name of charity.

For the first time in years Challenge has golf positions available for this event. Contact us now to join in the fun as places are limited.

Call Challenge on (03) 9329 8474

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