Thanks again to Nannan and all the hard working people in Creations for Charity to allow me to purchase LEGO sets again for the Kidzwish Foundations Christmas Party. KidzWish is a fantastic local charity in the Wollongong area, south of Sydney that supports a myriad of children. Here is a quick explanation of all the services they provide.
“KidzWish Foundation lends a hand to help Illawarra & South Coast children who are sick, disadvantaged or have a disability.
The charity was founded in 2004 by Chris Beaven and has since grown significantly over the last 10 years. We provide a range of core services and programs to help children including:
• KidzCommunicate: Speech Therapy • KidzMove & Walk: Physiotherapy • KidzPlay & Learn: Occupational Therapy • Sports Academy Program • Music & Dance Program • Appeals Program • KidzSpeak ‘Mobile Speech Therapy’ Program
Unlike most charity organisations, which focus on a single program or specific area of concern, we ensure that children and their families are not forgotten by falling through the gaps. Over the last 12 months alone, over 500 children relied on a KidzWish Program.”
In addition to the great work they do year round, KidzWish also hosts a massive Christmas party for children that fit the above criteria. With over 4900 children and carers attending this year, the demand for donations of presents and money is huge!
The initial donation from C4C allowed me to purchase 70 sets thanks to the sales and staff at ToysRUs!
With a bit more lead time this year, I was able to drum up donations of sets and money to purchase more sets from SydLUG members. We managed to get another 25 odd sets. I took along another member of SydLUG, Graham, who was so surprised to see the work Kidzwish do, and the sheer number of children they try to help each year, he decided to put up a Porsche set for raffle, with the proceeds to purchase even more sets to donate to Kidzwish. Following the raffle, Graham was able to purchase an additional 44 sets!
Here are a few of the sets we managed to purchase for many age ranges.
The initial donation to Kidzwish
Here are the extra sets raised through the raffle
Any donation is great for Kidzwish in terms of LEGO sets, but it really hits home just how many kids are underprivileged out there. I really appreciate the opportunity to work with Creations for Charity to brighten up Christmas for these kids. Thanks again, and I hope we can help even more kids next year!
Cheers Josh Morris SydLUG Ambassador