By Ash McCall and Ant Wingard
AFL Queensland Brisbane Juniors, in partnership with McDonalds Brisbane, is pleased to announce their second annual Ronald McDonald House Charity Round.
The Round will take place in correspondence to junior and youth games across Brisbane over June 14 – 16.
The Charity Round provides clubs with an opportunity to help fundraise and support the Ronald McDonald House as an independent charity that helps families of seriously ill children.
AFL Queensland encourages clubs to use their creativity and get involved with the initiative to fundraise for the RMH Charity.
To further encourage club participation and promotion in the round, McDonalds Brisbane is awarding three Spirit Awards that will be given to clubs who participate in the Charity Round.
Each Spirit Award includes $1000 gift voucher and will be awarded to clubs based on a club’s creativity, social media activity, initiative and overall effort.
AFL Queensland State Junior Football Manager, Cherie Brockwell, said she hopes Brisbane junior clubs will get involved with the Charity Round.
“The Ronald McDonald House provides support and assistance to so many families in Brisbane and throughout the country and we hope clubs use the charity round to help this cause,” Brockwell told aflq.com.au.
“McDonalds Brisbane have been aligned with the AFL Queensland Brisbane Juniors for over 10 years and we look forward to strengthening our ties with the charity round.”
As part of the 2019 Brisbane Junior Season Launch, Grace and the Moore family were invited to speak about their experience staying with the Ronald McDonald House South Brisbane.
The Moore family have been announced as the 2019 Charity Round Family Ambassadors.
The following is an exert from the Moore family’s story:
In August 2018, two and a half year old Grace was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome which is a genetic disorder of the connective tissue. Grace also suffered from a dilated aorta. As a result of Grace’s conditions, she was required to have open heart surgery. Grace was the first child in Australia and the youngest child in the world to have the PEARS procedure which was led by a UK doctor who flew to Australia for the surgery. As Grace and her family (mum Rebekka and dad Lou) are from Rockhampton, they have stayed at Ronald McDonald House South Brisbane since January 2019, so they are able to be close to Grace while she receives care. Rebekka describes Ronald McDonald House as a ‘safe place’ and a ‘blessing’ and would have struggled financially to accommodate all the associated costs that comes with extended stays away from home. Grace is now recovering from her recent surgery, with her family back home in Rockhampton and will continue to visit Ronald McDonald House when she receives regular check-ups at QCH.
Image caption: Image caption: Grace, Rebekka and Lou Moore
