Thank you for helping sick kids in 2020

In a year like no other, your support brought sick kids the happiness they needed more than ever. We can't thank you enough for your support and generosity.

Read on to see the positive impact you made in 2020!

Thank you for making Anabela's dream come true

Living with numerous complex health conditions, hospital is part of Anabela's life. At just six years old, she has had 30 general anaesthetics and sleeps with a life support machine to monitor her breathing.

Amid so much sadness, your support granted Anabela's Starlight Wish for a special cubby house.

Anabela helped pick the pink and rainbow colour scheme and the excitement and anticipation brought her so much joy.

When she saw her cubby house, Anabela was over the moon! Her cubby has a toy kitchen, space for dancing plus a slide and rock-climbing wall to help with her physical therapy.

"It means the world to Anabela to have a space to call her own and to look forward to happily playing with her friends. I'm so humbled by the generosity of so many people making this happen for us," Sarah, Anabela’s mum.

See Anabela's cubby revealed! >

You're helping Hunter find happiness

Mum Bridie recalls the devastating moment when doctors diagnosed their four-year-old son Hunter with Leukaemia.

Sadly, since then, Hunter has been constantly in and out of hospital with gruelling rounds of medications, scans, X-rays, surgeries and needles.

But thanks to your support, Captain Starlight is there with the happiness he needs to cope with the pain of hospital and treatment.

When Hunter is too unwell to leave his hospital bed, he loves visits from the Captain Starlights - he especially loves their jokes! Chatting and laughing with Captain Starlight helps break up the long, lonely days in hospital.

"Captain Starlight is the highlight of the day for a child confined to a hospital room. I was so grateful to see Hunter being a happy kid again," Bridie said.

Helping create healthier futures

When Captain Starlight visits remote community health clinics, kids feel happier and more positive about going for their health checks.

During travel restrictions, thanks to your support, Captain Starlight was still able to entertain and distract kids through the power of technology.

While kids waited for their Earbus hearing checks, Captain Starlight made virtual visits on-screen singing songs and telling stories, helping to make the clinic experience more fun.

As restrictions eased, Captain Starlight began blasting back down to communities with more fun, games and music helping to boost participation in healthcare.

That's the positive impact Starlight makes and that only happens thanks to you!

Here's a message from Captain Starlight after a trip to Cape York >

Thanks for helping teens shine

Through our teen program Livewire, your support helps teens and young people with a serious illness connect with others who understand what they are going through.

Livewire helps teens build positive networks of friends and find creative ways to cope with the isolation of hospital and treatment.

There was no end of creativity on show at the first ever Livewire Online Film Festival launched in 2020. Teens were invited to create a short five-minute film which debuted at a special virtual screening event. The film-making talents were all award-winning!

The festival was a much-anticipated event helping distract teens from the stress and isolation of serious illness and gave them the opportunity to celebrate and share in each other’s achievements.