My Westmead Casino Royale
30 November 2012
It was Viva My Westmead on a cold rainy night in Western Sydney two weeks ago when 200 guests and supporters attended the first My Westmead Casino Royale.
There was plenty to do once you entered the decked out Grand Royale Reception Lounge. Gaming for the adventurous - a poker tournament, roulette and blackjack. Activities for the fun at heart -- a caricaturist, psychic and photo booth. And the all important fundraising activities like the lucky envelope: 100 envelopes sold, one containing the $3,000 Loxley on Bellbird Hill prize (generously donated) and 99 with a $1 scratchie! It was such a great feel in the room to see so many generous people standing up front clutching their envelope!
The lucky winner of the prized envelope! And MC Rob Shehadie
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Elvis and the fabulous showgirls
Elvis and Marilyn were front and centre to meet and greet our guests, while Sabrina Mitwali and the fabulous showgirls entertained our My Westmead crowd, and once again we were blown away!
It's only with the support of local businesses that we can host these events and bring thecommunity together to raise money for health care and research at Westmead. Chemist Warehouse at Parramatta, Dental Avenue, Wow Cow at Burwood and Dyldam developments all generously sponsored the event, demonstrating the value they place on world class local health care and international research at Westmead.
We are also grateful for the support we received from Mallouhi Property, Grand Royale Reception Lounge and Just a Photobooth.
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What's so exciting with our My Westmead events is seeing our local community come together to support a cause that is there for them, or someone they love, when they need it most. Keep your eye out for our next event, or join our newsletter mailing list by calling 02 8836 4000. |
Corporate social responsibility opportunity
25 November 2011
A buzz is running through the Foundation office as we move closer to the end of the year!
Raphaelle is busy getting fundraising activities and prizes ready for the WSBC end of year event at Rooty Hill RSL. A special item will appear in members gift bags at this event (pictured), with a call out to business in Western Sydney to support the Foundation with volunteers this Australia Day.
Blacktown City Council has given the Foundation the opportunity to fundraise at their 2012 Australia Day celebration in Rooty Hill (thank you Blacktown City Council!).
To create some excitement around the medical research and care that Westmead provides, the Foundation is hosting a 'Guinness World Records ™ Attempt' for the 'most people wearing surgical scrub caps'!
Scrub caps are being sold to the huge crowd of 30,000 people that usually attend the event at The Rooty Hill, and we need some help doing this!
When: Thursday 26 January
Where: The Rooty Hill
Time: 4pm -- 9pm (with regular breaks for you to enjoy the day too!)
If you, your workplace, your family or friends can help -- please let Raphaelle know by calling 02 8836 4025. Any help you can give is appreciated.
Baxter Healthcare celebrates 19 years of support
21 November 2011
Baxter Healthcare has been supporting Westmead Medical Research Foundation since 1992. As the Australian subsidiary of a US-based listed global medical products and services company with expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, Baxter Healthcare has had a presence in western Sydney since 1963.
Baxter is focused on making a meaningful difference in patients' lives.
Westmead Hospital is a major customer of Baxter, and over many years there have been reciprocal visits between Baxter facilities at Old Toongabbie and Westmead Hospital.
This week we hosted a visit to the operating suite of Westmead Hospital to inspect how Baxter's products are used in practical situations across a number of clinical procedures.
Pictured: David Akeroyd, Managing Director (ANZ), Baxter Healthcare, Libby Keohane, Director of Government Affairs & Communications (ANZ), Baxter Healthcare and our team members Eric d'Indy, Executive Director and Joseph Herschel, Corporate Partnership Manager
Westmead's anaesthetists used Baxter's products to assist patients during major and minor surgical operations. Surgeons and nurses provide Baxter's fluids (such as surgical drips) to patients during and following procedures. Many of these products and manufactured in Sydney's western suburbs, providing jobs to support the local economy and our community.
Lee-Ann McDonald, the Clinical Group Senior Nurse Manager of Westmead Hospital informed David Akeroyd, Managing Director of Baxter (Australia and New Zealand), that the surgical teams were impressed with the quality and reliable service that Baxter provides to Westmead Hospital. She said that Baxter's products make the lives of the patients' we treat much easier and aids speedier recovery.
Inspecting the $3 million Interventional Neuroradiology Unit that treats patients through keyhole surgery, especially people impacted by a stroke or aneurism , Mr Akeroyd was impressed by the level of technology and advancement of in clinical services provided at Westmead Hospital.
Eric d'Indy, Executive Director of Westmead Medical Research Foundation commented that it is through the support of companies like Baxter Healthcare that Westmead Hospital can provide affordable access to health services and help fund life-saving research at Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research. Thank you Baxter for your ongoing support.
If your organisation or workplace would like to support the Foundation in a similar way, contact us so we can talk to you about the different ways you can get involved.
Dr Michael Stern: celebrating his life and his lasting legacy
01 November 2011
Over 100 family, friends, and former colleagues of the late Dr Michael Stern, a radiologist, gathered in Centennial Park in the eastern suburbs on the weekend to celebrate his life.
The occasion was marked by the announcement of the inaugural recipient of the Michael Stern Polycystic Kidney Disease Research Fellowship: Michelle Ta.
Commencing in January 2012, Michelle will undertake her PhD into improving understanding of the causes and treatment of this hereditary disease that sadly took Michael's life just over a year ago.
The Foundation provides a series of fellowships and grants to researchers at Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research through the support of generous donors in the community.
This 3 year Research Fellowship is funded through the support of friends of the Stern family, who gathered in good spirits on a sunny day to hear from Dr Jeremy Chapman OAM, Professor of Renal Medicine and Transplantation Specialist at Westmead Hospital and Dr Gopi Rangan, Staff Specialist and Senior Lecturer, Renal Medicine, who will be Michelle's supervisor.
Emily Stern, daughter of Helen and the late Michael Stern, welcomed guests who came together around the tree planted in Centennial Park dedicated to Michael. Michael's wife Helen, told guests that the park was always a favourite spot for the family. Helen said that one of Michael's parting thoughts was that he would be happy for his life to be celebrated with a Moreton Bay fig. She thanked the guests who had contributed towards the Research Fellowship that will benefit many people in the years ahead as more is revealed about Polycystic Kidney Disease.
Pictured: Helen Stern speaking with Emily and Michael Stern jnr, and Dr Jeremy Chapman OAM in the background
Michael Stern junior proposed a toast to his father and the good that has come from his life. Guests shared a picnic lunch around the Michael Stern tree together and took the opportunity to discuss the work of The Westmead Centre for Transplant and Renal Research undertaken by Dr Rangan and Ms Ta, as they continue in their quest for the knowledge that will help to save lives at Westmead.
Tax deductible donations in support of the Michael Stern Polycystic Kidney Disease Research Fellowship can be made directly to Westmead Medical Research Foundation:
- online at www.wmrf.com.au/donate
- by mail to PO Box 74, Westmead NSW 2154, or
- phone 02 8836 4000.
Please ensure your gift is clearly marked as supporting the Michael Stern PKD Fellowship.
My Westmead: official launch
18 November 2010
Yesterday Westmead Medical Research Foundation launched an exciting new campaign that will directly and profoundly benefit families in Sydney's west.
Called "My Westmead," the campaign will raise funds for vital and urgently-needed equipment and refurbishment at Westmead Hospital.
It will also be an avenue to celebrate the extraordinary and in many cases world-class work of the surgeons, doctors, nurses and researchers at Westmead Hospital.
Learn more about My Westmead >>
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The launch event was a 'garden brunch', with the garden atmosphere hastily recreated inside by flowers, lawn umbrellas and garden chairs as the rain started to fall outside. Some 20 students from the nearby Catherine McAuley school kept guests entertained with their wonderful musical talents. |
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Guests had an opportunity to hear from representatives of Westmead Hospital, Westmead Medical Research Foundation, and the campaign's major sponsor, Arab Bank Australia.
Download full transcript of all speeches >>
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Dr Megan Chambers (pictured here with Dr Simon Clarke), Director of the Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatry Unit, known as Redbank House, shared with guests the work she and her team did to support children -- from toddlers to teenagers -- and their families who were experiencing extreme emotional or behavioural problems. "Our work matters," she said simply. |
"It is not high tech in some ways. But children who grow up well, finish school, work and grow their own families make a huge difference to our society: financially, socially, to themselves and to many others."
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Joe Rizk, Chief Banking Officer of Arab Bank Australia, My Westmead's first and major sponsor, said one of the key issues of My Westmead was community. Joe is pictured here (left) with Westmead Hospital's General Manager Brad Astill, handing over a cheque for $30,000 toward My Westmead.
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"It is so important in an area like this, a precinct like this, that community involvement plays a key role. And we at the Arab Bank are committed to the community," Mr Rizk said.
"Why is it that we're here? Because it hits our heart. Because we see what this hospital does. We see what the research team across the road does. And the professionals -- the professors, the doctors, the nurses -- the passion which they display in their day-to-day dealings with people make us all feel proud."
Likewise Brad Astill said My Westmead was a very important campaign for Westmead, and was not only about fundraising. "It also gives us a really important opportunity to celebrate the work that we do at Westmead," he said.
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"But they're doing that work every day, every year, and they've been doing it for nearly 30 years now. "And that's really important work in this community. Providing the care that the community needs." Dr Phillip Lee, Senior Staff Specialist at Westmead's Palliative Care ward (left), shared more about his important work, and gave examples of how partnerships with charitable fundraisers had directly benefited his patients. |
He said the My Westmead campaign was "very near and dear to my heart. I grew up and went to school in Parramatta. I've lived in Parramatta all my life. And spent my professional career working in and around Westmead Hospital."
To close the morning's formalities, Westmead Medical Research Foundation's Executive Director Eric d'Indy made a rousing 'call to arms' for the business and community leaders of western Sydney to rally behind their own local hospital.
"This campaign can only deliver its outcomes if all of us in western Sydney stand by it," he said. "If you take the first leadership steps, which is actually supporting this campaign... I think you take very powerful leaderships that help other businesses, politicians and community groups in western Sydney to follow."
"So my message today is very clear: I'm asking you to support this campaign. I'm asking you to talk to your networks, to talk to your colleagues in Parliament, to talk to your business suppliers, and tell them how important it is that as a group in western Sydney we support what I see as the icon health institution for our region."
Progress report
The My Westmead campaign is only in its very early stages. But by the end of June 2011, Westmead Medical Research Foundation intends to have raised almost $300,000 to fund new equipment and refurbishments at Westmead Hospital that are of vital importance.
Learn more about where the money goes >>
In the meantime, we are thrilled to announce that generous business and community groups (Arab Bank, Pink Rock, Zouki and Carlingford Central) have already pledged $63,000 toward purchasing this equipment for Westmead Hospital.
In addition, a number of local businesses are partnering together to further the outcomes of the My Westmead campaign.
For example, Salmat and Integral Energy have teamed up to insert 'pledge requests' in a quarter of a million of Integral Energy's account statements in Sydney's west.
Westfield Parramatta has made My Westmead a beneficiary of its upcoming Community Days in December, and will make the brand space in its centre available for advertising and fundraising in the My Westmead campaign.
View sponsorship page >>
Get involved
The success of My Westmead will rely on the support of the community:
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Westmead Research Grant & Science Awards
11 November 2010
Last night Westmead Medical Research Foundation celebrated the exciting work of the dedicated student-researchers at the Westmead Millennium Institute, during the 2010 Westmead Research Grant and Science Awards ceremony.
The Foundation funds two types of grants: one Initiating Grant worth $25,000 and multiple top up grants which support researchers who have received some smaller funding elsewhere.
We heard from Gaya St George (pictured below with Ms Julie Owens MP), the recipient of the 2010 Initiating Grant. After receiving this grant, Gaya was able to conduct cutting edge research into non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC). NMSCs are the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Australia.
Gaya's project aims to compare people diagnosed at an early age with unaffected siblings and the general population. The study cohort will be investigated for any differences in evidence of HPV infection, along with the other known genetic and environmental risk factors for SCC.
In addition, we awarded a third grant, called the Arin Apcarian Grant. This grant is in memory of Arin Apcarian, a young researcher from the Westmead Millennium Institute who passed away in 2009. It honours the research Arin was conducting and is given to a researcher who has received no other funding.
Ivy Shih, this year's winner of the Arin Apcarian Grant, was thrilled to learn she had been chosen. Ivy self-funds her studies, and will use this grant to further her research into HIV. Below is a picture of Arin's brother Arbi presenting the grant to Ivy.
Westmead Medical Research Foundation, and our donors, are committed to investing in young minds through our grant scheme. With students like Gaya and Ivy dedicated and passionate about their research, we can make a real difference to medical treatment and care.
Please help us in our mission to reduce suffering and save lives. You can make an immediate and positive difference today.