August News

CEO’S MESSAGE

Mummy’s Wish has been a hive of activity over the past couple of months, with our Comfort Bear Tax Appeal raising more than $32,000 and Dry July raising more than $120,000. A big thank you to everyone who participated or donated, and thank you to the mums who shared their stories. These campaigns ensure our sustainability and help fund care packs, counselling and practical support.

Our valued community and corporate partners have been busy hosting an impressive array of fundraisers. The team is grateful for the opportunity to connect with our supporters at these events, with board members attending and Mummy’s Wish mums, Mellissa and Kelly-Anne, speaking at the recent Breast Friends Fundraising Afternoon Out.

We are now looking ahead to our upcoming campaigns – the Mummy’s Wish Hike in October, Giving Day in November and Christmas events, as well as partner events, like Cobild’s Resilience Challenge and Love Life High Tea. We invite to join us, or if you have an idea for your own fundraiser, we’d love to hear from you – please send us an email.

A heartfelt thank you to Carla Haddan for her dedication to Mummy’s Wish since 2013, raising an outstanding $550,000+ through events like the annual Big Mumma’s Italian Feast. Although she has stepped down as a brand ambassador, she remains a supporter through connecting us with others and her event in October.

We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Jennet Butler as our new chair, in addition to her role as board secretary. A fresh take on activities naturally brings new ideas and the board looks forward to working together to take our services to the next level. Our deepest gratitude to Trevor Cuss, who held the position since 2017 and remains as a board director, and Rachel Burke, who stepped down as a board director but remains on the committee.

As we enter a new chapter for Mummy’s Wish, we are feeling energised and optimistic about extending our reach and services to support more mums with cancer.

Because after all, a mum with cancer is still a mum.

Kind regards,
Angelique and the team

 

PRACTICAL SUPPORT FOR MUMS

2022 Impact – January to July

Mummy’s Wish Mum Exceeds Dry July Target of $3,000

 

Receiving her own breast cancer diagnoses just last May and undergoing an aggressive treatment plan, Mummy’s Wish mum, Jodie Halliwell, raised a staggering $3,181.80 this Dry July to help families like her own. Thank you Jodie for your amazing effort and for sharing your story with the Mummy’s Wish community. READ JODIE’S INSPIRING STORY

 

Mummy’s Wish In the Media 

Thanks to Women’s Agenda for the recent support in sharing our news: How to support the 5,000 mums of young kids who receive a cancer diagnoses every year  

 

Congratulations to Mummy’s Wish CEO, Angelique Ettia, for being named a finalist in the Outstanding Leadership Awards as a Community Leader. 

 

UPCOMING CAMPAIGNS

Mummy’s Wish Hike 

Mummy’s Wish invites you tell cancer to Take a Hike this October and organise a hike to raise funds for mums with cancer.
Take steps to support mums who are undergoing treatment, to celebrate those who have survived, and in memory of those we have lost. You can walk any distance or difficulty and there is no minimum participants or funds to raise – every dollar helps!The campaign is inspired by Annette Azzopardi, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and hiked Walshs Pyramid to raise money for Mummy’s Wish. Annette sadly passed away in 2019 and her friends and family continue this national annual hike in her memory.

READ ANNETTE’S STORYJoin Annette’s sister, Benita, for a virtual information session on Tuesday, 6 September to find out more:

Connect with the Mummy’s Wish Hike Group on Facebook to share tips and ideas.

 

Giving Day

Please save-the-date for Giving Day this November. Mummy’s Wish relies solely on generous donations. Every donation made to Mummy’s Wish on Giving Day will be doubled by our partner donors.
If you are a corporate organisation, trust or foundation looking to support a charity, please get in touch to find out how you can get involved.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Bridge to Brisbane

The Sunday Mail Transurban Bridge to Brisbane takes place on Sunday, 28 August and this year they’re hoping to raise over $1 million for QLD charities. Create your FUNDRAISING PAGE and select Mummy’s Wish as your charity recipient!A great initiative to take part in as an individual, group or friends or workplace team.

The Big Lunch 2022 

Save-the-date for Carla Haddan’s unforgettable afternoon at The Big Lunch 2022 on Friday, 7 October at Stanley Restaurant in Brisbane in support of Mummy’s Wish and Queensland Brain Institute.

Love Life High Tea

Bogi and her team are back with their annual High Tea fundraiser on 19 November in Ipswich.Now in it’s fifth year, the events have raised more than $21,000 to support mums with cancer. Bodi was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 and whilst she admits it turned her world upside-down, she believes it gave her the opportunity to open her eyes to what she had in life and do something with it. What an inspiration!
To donate a raffle prize for this great event, please send us an email.

Christmas Events

Planning your workplace or community group Christmas party? Host an event that gives back by raising funds for mums with cancer.
Every mum wants to make Christmas special for their little ones, but this can be extremely difficult for mums going through cancer treatment.

Give the gift of time to a Mummy’s Wish mum by hosting a Christmas fundraiser in support of our festive season care packs.

Dry July

What an effort! Thank you to the 434 participants, 17 Mummy’s Wish mums and 25 teams who went dry this July to raise over $120,000 for Mummy’s Wish. 
Missed your chance? Donations remain open throughout August – donate here
These much-needed donations go towards funding special projects, like last year’s counselling project.

A special note of appreciation to the Dry July Foundation team for selecting us as a Dry July Beneficiary. We have so much respect for the work you do and we are truly grateful. 

Carla Haddan

We can’t thank enough our long-serving brand ambassador, Carla Haddan, for her support of Mummy’s Wish since 2013. Whilst she is no longer a Mummy’s Wish brand ambassador, she remains connected to our community. Carla has raised more than $550,000 through events like the annual Big Mumma’s Italian Feast. What an outstanding achievement! Watch how Big Mumma’s Italian Feast began.

Breast Friends – $23,254

Thank you to everyone who attended, sponsored and supported the 2022 Breast Friends Fundraising Afternoon Out. A special thank you to Tricia, Marilyn and Virginia and the team for organising this fantastic day. And thanks to Mellissa Naidoo, who spoke at the event representing Mummy’s Wish. 
The final fundraising total of $23,254 goes to cancer research, support programs and after treatment care. We are grateful to be one of their charity partners.

UBX Australia – $3,032

When one their members, a mum of 3 young kids, received the devastating diagnosis of an aggressive form of breast cancer, she approached the team at UBX Aspley to organise a fundraiser.
Special workouts were held on Saturday, 16 July with participants encouraged to donate and wear pink to raise awareness for breast cancer. The day raised more than $3,000 for Mummy’s Wish. Thank you UBX Australia!

The Butterliss Family – $2,500

Recently the Butterliss Family marked the significant milestone for their mum – almost 30 years in remission and going strong! In 1992, with a 6-week old and 3-year old, Belinda was diagnosed with Lymphoma. To honour Belinda, the Butterliss family donated $2,500 to see targeted support go to other Aussie mums.
Congratulations Belinda on your milestone and thank you!

GirlsTrek Launch 

Thanks to GirlsTrek for including us in their recent launch event and donating raffle proceeds to Mummy’s Wish. The event was attended by Mummy’s Wish chair, Jennet Butler, and guests were updated on GirlsTrek’s plans for a Mummy’s Wish Hike in Brisbane this October – more detail to come!

Caitlin Smith

Caitlin is a Year 11 student in Brisbane’s northern suburbs who volunteered for Mummy’s Wish as part of her school’s community action program.
Caitlin’s best friend’s mum passed away from melanoma in 2018, so when Caitlin heard of the work of Mummy’s Wish, she knew it was a charity she wanted to give her time to.
Thank you Caitlin for your hard work!

MEET THE TEAM

Jennet Butler Chair & Secretary
Mummy’s Wish welcomed Jennet Butler as the new chair at a board meeting held on 26 July. Jennet brings more than eighteen years’ experience in the financial and professional services sectors in leadership roles.
“I am excited to be a part of this journey and honoured by the support shown by the board, CEO and staff in undertaking the chair role. We have a clear strategy and operational plan to achieve our growth objectives and I look forward to working with the team to bring this to fruition,” said Jennet.
 Liz Lord  Board Director

Joining the Mummy’s Wish board in April, Liz brings more than 20 years of experience in marketing leadership roles in telco and financial services companies. Working for the last 10 years in local and overseas roles within PayPal, she currently holds the role of Chief Marketing Officer for PayPal Australia.
In 2017 Liz became a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Board Directors, and since her return to Australia in 2019, has undertaken board responsibilities alongside her full time commercial roles. To date she has held a board advisor role to a medical tech business and has served for the past two years on the PayPal Giving Fund Board.

THANKS TO THE BOARD

Trevor Cuss 

The Mummy’s Wish team warmly thanks Trevor Cuss for his time in the role as chair since 2017. Under his guidance, the team worked tirelessly to refocus and stabilise the organisation through the past few tough years. He remains on the board as a director. “Witnessing my mum and sister’s breast cancer journeys, I was privileged to join the board more than 10-years back. It’s been inspiring to witness the benefits a small charity can provide to many thousand young mum’s and their families.I’ve been blessed and energised to work alongside a wonderful and dedicated team. I look forward to sharing the next chapter, hopefully witnessing the achievement of our goal to support all young mum’s diagnosed across Australia,” said Trevor.
 Rachel Burke

The team also thanks Rachel Burke, who stepped down as board director but continues to be a key supporter on the Remunerations and Nominations Committee.

“I started as a volunteer in 2016 and immediately fell in love with how we were helping mums with cancer. When a board role came up late 2017, I jumped at the chance to contribute more. It has been such a rewarding time and has allowed me to build meaningful relationships. One of my key highlights has been getting to know some of the mums we have supported – they are truly amazing women who I will always have a special place in my heart for,” said Rachel.