Good Friday in Melbourne brings with it two absolute certainties: hot cross buns will be ingested and money will be raised to help the Royal Children’s Hospital save the lives of some very sick kids.
Organisers of the Good Friday Appeal are hoping to trump last year’s record-breaking total of more than $16.8 million raised across the state, so here’s five ways you can support this incredibly worthy cause.
1. Grab a coffee
A caffeine addiction might not be all that good for your health, but it will improve the health of sick kids at the Royal Children’s Hospital this Friday if you feed it at Hobba in Prahran. The family-owned cafe will be donating a dollar from every coffee sold to the Good Friday Appeal and together with proceeds from fundraising tins at the counter are hoping to raise more than $1000.
Hobba, 428 Malvern Road, Prahran.
8am – 3pm.
2. Turf a teddy
In the absence of any Aussie rules game on Friday night, switch codes and head down to AAMI Park to watch the Melbourne Rebels take on the Queensland Reds and raise $50,000 for sick kids in the process. Patrons will be encouraged to buy a $10 teddy at the game, with all proceeds donated to the Appeal. Toss the teddy onto the pitch and it’ll end up in the arms of a kid at the RCH. Win/Win (and hopefully in the case of the Rebels: Win).
AAMI Stadium, Olympic Boulevard, Melbourne.
From 7.30pm
3. Trim the tree
Proving that the Germans do festive trees better than most, the Munich Brauhaus is calling on families to help decorate their traditional Bavarian Easter Tree this Friday as part of their three-day Easter Festival. Easter in Munich means hanging decorated eggs on trees in the garden so continue the tradition and purchase an egg for $5 then decorate it at the Brauhaus’ arts and crafts station before hanging it on their tree. If you’re thinking that’s an expensive egg, well that’s because all proceeds go towards the Good Friday Appeal so it’s money well spent.
Munich Brauhaus, 45 South Wharf Promenade, South Wharf.
From noon.
4. Slurps up
In a move that very nearly trumps Good Friday’s religious connotations, 7-Eleven announced that April 3 would also be Name Your Price Day; the day that you can walk into any store and buy a large Slurpee for any price you choose. But before you start daydreaming of all the sugary goodness you could get for as little as five cents, it’s worth noting that all proceeds from large Slurpee sales will be donated to a children’s hospital in each state or territory (in Victoria it’s the Good Friday Appeal) so dig deep.
7-Eleven stores nationwide.
5. Learn how to save a life
Here are some staggering figures: 260 Australian children are killed and 58,000 are hospitalised from accidental injuries every year. For every minute CPR is not administered, a child’s chance of survival drops 10 per cent, so if cardiopulmonary resuscitation is not currently within your skill set, here’s your chance to learn from the best. KidzAid Australia’s team of healthcare professionals is aiming to train more than 5000 parents, grandparents, teachers and nannies in paediatric CPR in six hours on Good Friday and (hopefully) break a world record in the process. A $5 fee will arm you with life saving skills, and it’s all donated to the Appeal.
Crown Palladium, 8 Whiteman Street, Southbank.
10am – 4pm
Oh, and don’t forget you can donate directly to the Good Friday Appeal. www.goodfridayappeal.com.au/donate
