Symbio Wildlife Park was bathed in sunshine on a perfect summer’s day for the annual KidsWish Christmas Party at the popular Helensburgh tourist attraction.
Around 3000 people were in attendance for the annual event for children living with disability or illness to enjoy the festive season with a range of fun activities.
The KidsWish Christmas Party has been an iconic Illawarra event enjoyed by tens of thousands of children since 2004.
Each child in attendance received a toy as well as lunch, a drink and an ice block which went down a treat in the sunny conditions.
Santa Claus was a popular choice for children, and bigger kids, to get their photo taken with and Illawarra’s Friendly Neighbourhood Spidey and his super-hero friends were also swamped with requests.
The Music Makers, KidsGroove, KidsRock, Annalivia Keaveney, Magic to the Max performers and The RockIts band performed at the stage show hosted by Wave FM’s Lyndal and Crammy before the Bop till you Drop dance party.
Symbio’s staff hosted animal presentations for the guests who had the opportunity to feed kangaroos and the barnyard residents.
Players and community teams from the St George Illawarra Dragons NRL and NRLW teams, Wollongong Wolves and Illawarra Hawks were running activities in the sport and sensory zone.
We would like to express our thanks to the Rapid Relief Team for their tireless efforts to ensure every guest was served a delicious sausage sandwich for lunch.
KidsWish Stakeholder Engagement and Fundraising Manager Emily Wright said it was delightful to see so many smiling faces at the Christmas Party.
“We opened it up to 3000 people, the biggest Christmas Party we’ve had to date,” Emily said.
“It’s been an absolutely spectacular day. We’ve had lots and lots of people through the door, lots of fun, new characters on the scene.
“A massive event like this can’t happen without the support from everyone who come together to make this happen.
“We had lots of new sponsors on board this year – massive thanks to Wahu for all their toy donations. Peters Ice Cream came on board with Icy Poles for every kid and volunteer.
“Rapid Relief Team once again – a massive effort from them and all their crew to feed every single guest that attended.
“And we can’t forget Symbio for their spectacular venue and all the support from their staff.”
Symbio Chief Marketing Officer Kevin Fallon said they were pleased to be able to lend a hand.
“We are so proud to be able to support the KidsWish community year on year to be able to help facilitate such an amazing event,” Kevin said.
“We know that a lot of kids don’t get the opportunity to be able to connect with peers like this too many times throughout the year.
“It’s great to be bringing the entire community together for an absolutely amazing day of fun and laughter, and the kids being able to be themselves.”
State Member for Heathcote Maryanne Stuart and Federal Member for Cunningham Alison Byrnes were also in attendance, checking out the performances and activities at Symbio.
KidsWish would also like to pay tribute to the 150-plus volunteers who helped make the Christmas Party a tremendous success, including students from St Mary Star of the Sea College in Wollongong, Corpus Christi Catholic High School at Oak Flats, Kiama High School and The Illawarra Grammar School.
We’d also like to make special mention to other businesses that supported the event with volunteers: Natilik, Propel Tech, RMB Lawyers and The Disability Trust, and businesses who donated toys and gifts: Jasnor, Jamberoo Action Park, Flip Out Albion Park, Timezone, Funlab Pty Ltd, Gravity Gym and Surf Dive ‘n Ski.
We’d love to hear how yourself or someone you know has been impacted by KidsWish.
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This National Volunteer Week, we’re shining a light on the incredible people who give their time, energy and spirit to help us bring joy and connection to children living with
Tell us how KidsWish has touched your life. This is an opportunity to share your KidsWish experience. These questions are provided as a guide to help us to understand the full picture of your story and how KidsWish has impacted you and your family.
There is no need to provide a response to every question.
1. Why/how did you become involved with KidsWish? 2. What do you get out of your involvement with KidsWish? 3. Why is KidsWish important to you? 4. How does KidsWish help you/your family? 5. Who is in your family? 6. What challenges do you face? 7. Your child/children’s diagnosis?
