PROGRAMS - · PDF fileStarlight programs increase in wish referrals STARLIGHT WISHES GRANTED children, young people and their families attended a ... our hospital partners is key to

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PROGRAMS 2016 HIGHLIGHTS

PROGRAMS2016 HIGHLIGHTS

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734Starlight Wish referrals received

from health professionals

303DAYS IN REMOTE COMMUNITIES

58496visits by Captain Starlight to

children on the ward

505new Livewire

members of live TV broadcast in hospital on Starlight TV

1837HOURSchildren reached in remote

communities

100%families would recommend a Starlight

Wish experience to another family

LIVEWIRE WORKSHOPS HELD IN HOSPITAL

980

26919logins to livewire.org.au

children visited in regional and rural hospitals CAPTAIN STARLIGHTS

130VISITS TO THE STARLIGHT EXPRESS ROOM

34005volunteer hours to help deliver

Starlight programs

increase in wish referrals

STARLIGHT WISHES GRANTED

children, young people and their families attended a Starlight Extravaganza

Starlight experiences in 2016

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Captain Starlight

SMILE TEDDY!Teddies are so much more than fluffy companions. In hospital, comfort toys like teddy bears play a huge role in bringing kids a much-needed sense of security.

Capturing Comfort is a new project in the ACT where the Captain Starlights photograph kids’ special toys and present the families with printed photos of their little friends. No matter how floppy, chewed, dribbled on or worn out these toys are, every one of them deserves to be seen as a hero! The photos capture each toy‘s own little character, with a rich history and strong place within the family. Here’s to every Sheepy, Bunny, Pookie, Flopsy and Brown Bear!

To mark the 2016 Olympics, Captains at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne decided to have an Opening Ceremony of their own! Thrown in the main street of the Hospital, the parade, which was organised with the help of the Education Institute, represented and introduced all the wards and was a huge hit.

A sweet little dealKids in hospital often miss out on so much, especially during school holidays. When a family in the Starlight Express Room in Perth talked to Captain Starlight about how their son was missing a camping trip, Captain Starlight had an idea… turn the Starlight Express Room into a camp site!

Camp Starlight had its own crafty ‘camp fire’ complete with spooky ghost stories, white water rafting and a tent making competition. There was even a fun wildlife hunt, stargazing and the soothing sounds of nature as the campfire crackled in the background. What an adventure!

Welcome toCAMP STARLIGHT

“I think it’s great just to have something to take your mind off the trauma, just escape

from it a bit…”—Parent

A friendly competition in the Adelaide Starlight Express Room took a surprising turn one morning when one contestant took matters into their own hands to get an advantage! The Michael Rice Centre cares for children from SA/NT who have blood disorders and cancer and obviously felt like it was onto a winner with one of their competition entries. So when the Captains walked into the Starlight Express Room one morning they saw their very interesting (and tempting) attempt to rig the competition with a little bribe!

You must fly past

and followthrough the

STARLYMPICS

the LIVEWIRES in between Saturn’s

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Starlight Express Rooms

There were highlights galore in Adelaide this year. From Book Week, to NAIDOC week and the Olympic Games, the year was full of fun and collaboration. The celebration that took the cake was of course, the Starlight Express Room turning five! Hospital CEO Naomi and her Executive team and Starlight Ambassadors Laura Cassai and Cam O’Shea all came along to be part of the big birthday celebrations.

AdelaideHIP, HIP, HOORAY!

CHECK CONSENTIt was a big year at Monash Children’s Hospital with the Starlight Express Room officially opening on Saturdays. Kids were all smiles as special guest Mason opened the room for the very first time. The doors also opened to lots of VIP visitors throughout the year including the X Factor’s Mary Ann Van Der Horst, WWE wrestler Seamus and an exciting visit from Melbourne Victory football team.

In its second year, Write N Unite, was the fourth Arts in Health project undertaken this year which celebrates the art of writing and storytelling. The week long festival transported patients into the world of time travel by sending them on an exciting adventure around the hospital to seven mini pop up theatres and performances in order to solve a puzzle within the story line. ‘Lost in Time’ was an interactive adventure where patients and their families followed a map, navigated the hospital and met characters from distinct time periods who helped solve puzzles with the goal of releasing a professor who was locked in her time machine.

WRITE N UNITE!

NOW OPEN SATURDAYSMONASH

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REFRESH, RELAX & RE-CHARGE! Parents and carers of kids in hospital can now enjoy some well-earned relaxation at a ‘Starlight’ Yoga session with a fully qualified yoga teacher. Every Tuesday evening the Starlight Express Room, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne is transformed into a calming retreat with soft lighting and relaxing music. Parents have returned week on week to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of this relaxing new initiative.

MAKING HOSPITAL FUN Six-year-old Nikiaya is a regular patient and she loves Captain Starlight and the Planet Starlight mythology. Nikiaya makes her trips to the hospital in good spirits, but only if her Mum promises her she can visit the Starlight Express Room! Nikiaya enjoys arts and crafts and karaoke and is a shining example of how the Starlight Express Room helps to improve appointment attendance rates by turning hospital into a place of fun and adventure.

The kids in the Starlight Express Room at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, had an intergalactic visitor in the form of NASA Astronaut Colonel Ronald J. Garan. Known to the kids as Astronaut Ron, he made a special stop at the Starlight Express Room to chat about life in outer space.

The first question on everybody’s lips was food! The children wanted to know what kind of food astronauts eat in space. The answer is not space food, but everyday Earth food with a difference. All the water is taken out, then put back into it in space. Astronauts can even have ice-cream! Astronaut Ron talked about how rockets are powered and shared lots of facts about living in zero-gravity. And did you know there’s internet in space? Ron chatted to his family from space while he floated about! Astronaut Ron said he’d be sure to swing by Planet Starlight on his next mission and say hello to Captain Starlight.

Some other visitors who popped by this year...

– Taylor Swift – LCCH

– Shane Crawford (AFL Legend) & Early Bird from WB Kids – RCH

– Storm Troopers – Adelaide

– Troye Sivan – LCCH

– Ron Garan (Nasa Astronaut) – Randwick

– The Wests Tigers NRL – Westmead

– Sheamus (WWE Wrestler) – Monash

– The cast of Matilda – RCH and Randwick

– Brendan Fevola – RCH

– Playschool – LCCH

– Scooby Doo – Randwick

– Toby Price (2016 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Champion) – JHCH Newcastle

Thanks to a collaboration with the Hospital School, we helped launch National Simultaneous Story

Time to give more kids the joy of stories. Children who are too sick to leave their wards can now be part of story time by listening in to pre-recorded stories at the same time as the books are being

read in the Starlight Express Room.

STORY TIME FOR ALL

Celebrity visits are...

OUT of this WORLD!


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PARTNERSHIP AT RANDWICK SHINES

Great things happen with great partnerships! This year saw some fantastic events come together with our partners at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick.

– Party day

– Graduation Ceremony, celebrating their 10th year this year

– Music Therapy week

– Child Life Theory week

– School Holiday programs

– Kindy Kids

– Hospital Explore program

– Christmas Pantomime and Caring with Carers group

A strong, collaborative relationship with our hospital partners is key to Starlight delivering the best programs possible. At Randwick, the relationship between the hospital and our team has been a real highlight this year so we were humbled to receive this lovely note.

“The Public Relations team are able to trust and rely on the Starlight team for the delivery of celebrity guest visits, donor visits and patient events. The Starlight team also form an integral part of organising groups and help us to create special events external to the Starlight Express Room such as the Patient Graduation Ceremony and Christmas Extravaganza. The Starlight team play an essential role in delivering these outstanding events which are always extremely well received by our patients, families and staff alike and we feel privileged to have such a great team that we can trust and come to for assistance whenever needed. Knowing that they truly understand the needs of our hospital and patients and will work tirelessly to help is incredibly valuable. The Captain Starlights and Starlight Express Room program manager are an essential part of the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick family and we appreciate their hard work immensely.“

A favourite story at the John Hunter Hospital Starlight Express Room is Alice in Wonderland so the Captain Starlights decided to create some magic with a special John Hunter Alice in Wonderland. Of course, no tea party would be complete without the Queen of Hearts, Madhatter and Alice herself!

The room looked fantastic, and the kids played flamingo croquet, pass the teacups and Queen of Hearts Bocce. It was a great community event, with lots of supporters donating costumes, flowers and props to turn the Starlight Express Room into a magical adventure-filled wonderland.

“The service is fantastic. My son was extremely excited to visit the Starlight Express Room, he wanted to spend as

much time as possible there.” —Parent

ALICE’S NEWCASTLEWONDERLAND


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Fun heads to theSUNSHINE STATEIn 2016, Captain Starlight travelled far and wide across sunny Queensland. From the top of Cairns to the Tweed Coast, there was fun and laughter for more sick kids than ever before.

Starlight Connections

Strong Tassie connectionsOur Tasmanian connections remained strong in 2016, with regular visits by Captain Starlight reaching over 300 children.

A WARM NT WELCOME Captain Starlight was welcomed to even more communities across the NT last year. The Captain Starlights took their first trip to Kintore, one of Australia’s most remote Aboriginal communities. This was part of the expansion into Central Australia, and was a great success with the Captain Starlights seeing 50 children. There was also the first trip to the Ampilatwatja community to help out at their school health screening clinic.

Starlight also attended Garma Festival, a yearly forum on overcoming Indigenous disadvantage in Australia which is attended by political and business leaders from across the globe. Being involved with these festivals helps us further connect with families and become a familiar and trusted part of the communities we visit. As well as attending community forums, Starlight’s steady presence in Central Australia has continued with regular trips to Alice Springs Hospital and repeat visits to a number of Central communities.

Our partnership with the amazing people at the Earbus Foundation, has gone from strength to strength. The impact on kids’ health is nothing short of amazing, and this story really captures the reach of the program and highlights the need that Earbus and Captain Starlight meet in WA.

“On a recent Pilbara trip with Earbus, Captain Starlight was able to convince a child to attend an important surgery by telling her that they would be at the hospital the next morning when she arrived. The Captain Starlights waited all morning for her to arrive, but unfortunately, the little girl didn’t come. About half an hour after leaving for their next stop they received a phone call saying that the little girl had arrived and was desperate to see Captain Starlight. Of course the Captain Starlights had a chat with the amazing people from Earbus and jumped in their rocket ship and headed straight back to the hospital to see the girl before she headed in for surgery. She was so happy to see familiar faces and it was a wonderful experience for everyone!”

Starlight Connections

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Once upon a time there was a town called Westmead. In that town was a Children’s Hospital and a Livewire Team. One day the Livewire Team decided to combine their love of storytelling, with their passion for creativity and the arts. And so the Westmead Storytelling Festival was born! A week-long adventure, jam-packed with special guests, free workshops, and a mighty storytelling competition.

The festival hosted some amazing guests including professional storyteller Victoria Campbell, Richard Short from the Sydney Story Factory and Zohab Khan, who is a spoken word poet and hip-hop artist. The festival came together with the award-winning playwright and screenwriter Lachlan Philpott who hosted improv games and a brainstorming session for a theatrical drama to be produced in an hour!

Stories unfoldat festival

CAPTAIN STARLIGHTTAMWORTH HOSPITAL BLOG

In the country music capital, all you need is a little imagination!

29th September 2016

Huzzah! The rain won’t stop Captain Starlight’s red rocket ship today. Captain Starlight is in Tamworth!

Helloooooo, everybody! It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Today began wonderfully because we spotted a magical underwater world in the foyer of the children’s ward and there was even a castle inside the fish tank! Then, who should pop out from behind a cave but Mermaid Barbie!!!

Mermaid Barbie said she really needed a friend to live with so we decided to go on the hunt! Our friends from the Greater Foundation were the best helpers so they spotted a new friend and it was perfect because she was looking for a new Barbie!!! They had a pink lemonade iced tea party and hit it off straight away.

Then, the Captain Starlight colouring book wanted to join in but because the book was just a baby, Captain Starlight had to stop him from talking and put him down for a nap with his crayon bottle. Night, night colouring book!

It was certainly a day for meeting lots of new friends because we then ran into Princess Pinkie Pie who had lost her ‘Frozen’ treasure in one of our little friends’ rooms. Our little friend was very excited to help us find the treasure; especially the ‘Frozen’ bracelet which she put on straight away!

Off we all went to watch Sprinkles the Unicorn compete in the Unicorn Hoof Hoopla Gymnastics Tournament of the universe! It was so lucky that Sprinkles had a magical friend in the next room who gave the best glitter high-fives and helped boost Sprinkles’ confidence so much that she was able to make a new universe record and do a quadruple somersault hoof dip!

Woweeee, today has been full of magic and meeting new friends and it has been spectacular. We can’t wait to see everyone again in Tamworth soo-oooon!

Thanks for having us!

Starlight Connections Livewire

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Livewire

SKATEBOARDS STEAL THE SHOW

Being a teenager in hospital away from your everyday life and friends can be lonely, isolating and stressful. Not to mention all that untapped creative energy!

So when Livewire gave teens at the Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick the chance to create their very own skateboards and display them at the Winter Art Exhibition, hospital suddenly became a whole lot brighter. Not only did the project give the teens a creative outlet to come up with their own design, it also gave them the chance to meet others, work together and share ideas.

The project helped the teens learn new practical skills and then enjoy some time in the spotlight when their creative talents were put on show. And the skateboards are more than works of art. All the decks can be turned into rideable skateboards, so can go from gallery to skate park in a flash!

Zach’s original QLD initiative has now gone national! Having been a Starlight child himself, Zach was keen to get involved with Starlight and came up with the idea to run a creative T-shirt design competition through Livewire. Teens were encouraged to create and submit their t-shirt designs in four different categories with Livewire members voting on the winning design. The winner from each category had their design professionally printed on t-shirts to give to friends and family. There were over 40 amazing entries making it one of the most successful Livewire competitions ever!

KIDS GET CODING@ WESTMEAD

Engaging with adolescents often requires some creative thinking! Livewire workshops need to hold the interest of teenagers, be engaging for 90 minutes or more and appeal to both genders. Always rising to the challenge, the Livewire team came up with a tech-savvy activity that won their audience over!

Livewire partnered with Code Camp to run Coding workshops at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. The teens were all given a laptop preloaded with the coding software that the presenters stepped them through. After working through the various stages, each teen walked away not only having designed and built their own basic game but also with the software and skills to keep developing their game in their own time. Who would have thought you could learn to code your own game in hospital!

Zach’s idea TAKES OFF!

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The power of musicThe Livewire team have tapped into the creative power of music to help out a teen at the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital. From guitar lessons to filming and editing her very own music clip, they’re taking her on a journey from a teenager in hospital, to a musician, videographer and director. One very exciting transformation for this music lover!

Splat Attack was an amazing Livewire in-hospital Art Project that was as fun as it sounds. It was all about splatting paint all over everything (in an artistic way of course)!

Right from the start, the teenagers were involved in the experimentation required for the preparation. What was the right mixture of paint? How long did a paper paint bomb stay together before it dissolves? How else could you throw paint at a canvas? This was a fun way to demonstrate the hard work an artist goes through in developing a concept. At the end, there was a great feeling of ownership and satisfaction, not to mention the joy of splattered paint as far as the eye could see!

LIVEWIRE.ORG.AU MEMBER QUOTES

Don’t take our word for it...Here’s what Livewire teens say…

“Livewire has been such a big part of my teenage years, especially when I was unable to attend school regularly for extended time. It helped me connect with other people my age who understood and knew what I was going through, and who could support me through my tough times and celebrate achievements along the way. Livewire gives teenagers like myself the opportunity to grow social relationships in a safe environment with caring facilitators who genuinely care about us. Livewire has given me a place to express my feelings and also share my interests and hobbies.”“Through my Starlight Wish, I found out about a website called livewire.org.au, a site for 10-21 year olds living with a chronic illness or disability. I signed up not long before my twelfth birthday and became an active member on the site. The first time that I logged into the chatroom, I was blown away with the supportiveness and inclusivity of the members. There was opportunity for everyone to add into the conversation and no-one was being left out. I was welcomed by everyone and felt like a part of a very special community, which I have come to learn, Livewire definitely is. This year I was selected to be a Guide member on Livewire and help out by welcoming and supporting new members to the site. I feel like this is a chance for me to give back to Livewire what they have to me; happiness, love, support and connection.”

Livewire’s GOT TALENT

The Livewire’s Got Talent competition runs every year where we encourage members to send in photos, videos, stories, poems or anything which showcases their amazing talents. The model is based on Australia’s Got Talent but with a Livewire twist. For Livewire, talent can mean anything, from drawing, dancing, singing or cup stacking. There are six winners each year and Livewire members vote for their favourites. This year Olivia from WA was one of the winners with her incredible art skills getting her across the line. Congrats Olivia!

LOOK OUT!It’s a Splat Attack!

Livewire

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So, I was introduced to Livewire nearly four years ago during a very lengthy stay in hospital! But wow, I have come so far during that time!

When I was signed up to Livewire, I had no idea what I was getting myself into, or the impact that this incredible community would have on my life. I was at a point in my life where I had become incredibly withdrawn and isolated. Life as I had known it, had once again been turned upside down. I had spent close to a year in hospital far from home and now had little motivation for life. I had no friends. I did not go to school; in fact, I had been told I would never be capable of it again. I had no purpose in life. To top it off, my prognosis was not great and I felt incredibly alone and misunderstood by those around me.

When I was first told about Livewire by an incredible staff member from the Starlight Express Room, I remember thinking to myself, ‘How could it be possible to actually make proper friends and be feel understood online?’ I had not used any sort of social media before.

It took me a few weeks once I got discharged from that admission to even log into my account and honestly, to begin with, I did not understand the hype of it all. It just did not feel real in a way. It felt distant. It was like this until the day I connected with another person in chat that I had met in hospital. This connection quickly changed my perspective of the community. I started off by logging on just for this person’s shifts, which lead to me connecting with other members and hosts. Once I began to feel comfortable within the community and was able to open up a bit, I realised how incredible it felt to be able to connect with people that truly understood how I was feeling and what I was going through. I had never felt this way before.

It did not take long until I was logging in most days around my medical schedule of treatments, appointments, therapy and long admissions. I began

forming friendships with people, who today, I consider my closest friends. I began connecting with more and more people who understood what it was like to be in my situation from all over Australia.

Within a few months, jumping into the chat room was the highlight of my day. It was something I would look forward to after appointments or during admissions. I never looked back. I quickly came to know all of the hosts and all of the members. The community became my chosen family. A chosen family of incredible individuals who were always incredibly welcoming, kind, understanding and supportive. Something that was so foreign to me with the people that surrounded me.

There are the people I distinctly remember welcoming me and allowing me to feel so at ease within the community. I look back at screenshots of the chat room and group video chats we used to have, and realise how lucky I was to be able to connect with such incredible people early on. You guys were the first people that made be feel like I had friends that accepted me for the person I was.

Conversations were limitless. One moment we could be discussing our favourite TV shows, books and celebrities, and the next moment we could be discussing our conditions, challenges or struggles, or even our future ambitions. I slowly became comfortable sharing my experiences and challenges with some people – something I had not been able to do. There were friendships I formed with other members and hosts that helped me build my self confidence, which was basically non-existent at the time. Some of these friendships made me realise I still had purpose in this life. They assisted me in uncovering talents I never realised I had. I could go on all day about the positive impacts some of these individuals have had on my life – but basically – there is absolutely no way I would be where I am, or the person I am today, without.

Fast-forward to now, I am definitely not the quiet, withdrawn soul I was when I signed up to this community. I continue to have my ups and downs of living with a number of chronic, degenerative conditions – treatments, admissions, surgeries, frustrations of deterioration, challenges with friendships and so much else – but I do not let these define the life I live! I continue to tear down barriers and prove expectations or assumptions of my abilities, wrong.

I may not know what my future holds, but—I will be at peace with myself, knowing I have done the best I possibly could in life. That is a direct result of this incredible community. I will never be able to thank you all enough!

Livewire.org.au Member Blog

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Starlight’s Extravaganza events continued in 2016, with each state’s day being a fabulous and welcome break for families and children. There were a couple of notable events, like Queensland’s trip to Australia Zoo, with a special meet and greet with zoo characters Tiger and Croc. There was face painting and some close encounters with real life animals including an echidna, a snake, a parrot and a koala!

In WA, Starlight families celebrated at the Caversham Wildlife Park with a day full of fun activities including a VIP wombat show and a yummy BBQ lunch, cooked by amazing celebrity chef Herb Faust. There was face painting and polaroid picture snaps throughout the day as well as fun on the bouncy castle.

In Tasmania, the day was held again at AMF Bowling in Hobart with Hawthorn Football Club players coming along to help for a fun day out. And in Victoria, the partnership with our friends at the Victoria Racing Club continued and saw Starlight families attend Guineas Day at Flemington Racecourse. This family-friendly day is a children’s wonderland of arts and crafts, games, pony rides, live entertainment and more.

Wishgranting

EXTRAVAGANZAS of family fun

FAMILY QUOTES“I think it was just the

fact that we could see our child so happy, and know

that someone wants to make their dreams come true.”

“It gave him hope and purpose

to reach some of his goals after what he’s

gone through.”

“I think if you asked mum or dad they

would just say that the best part was seeing

me happy.”

“[Our puppy] has brought so much joy into our lives, he’s such a jovial fellow. It’s probably the best wish we could have ever wished for.”

“From the beginning

to end it was a dream.”

“We had quality time with his siblings, and we were just together as a family. That’s what kids

really value.”

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Starlight Wish makes DREAMS TAKE FLIGHT Joining forces with our official Wishgranting partner Virgin Australia, we granted a once-in-a-lifetime experience to help Mitchell fulfil his life-long dream to work in aviation.

As a young boy on the soccer field, Mitchell would often find himself gazing up at the sky to watch the planes pass overhead. “He loved his sport but his attention was more on plane spotting!” his Mum said. His fascination with aviation only grew and his dream was to one day take to the skies as a pilot.

Sadly, Mitchell was diagnosed with a brain tumour in early 2016 and endured months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Despite being so ill, he was determined to get back to training for his private pilot’s licence, which had been put on hold.

So, you can imagine Mitch’s excitement when he was told he was being granted a Starlight Wish to train in a Virgin Australia Flight Simulator. Virgin then decided to step in and offer him something much more – an internship with the airline to help kick-start his career in aviation.

Mitchell was over the moon with the surprise news of the internship. His Starlight Wish signifies a brighter future for the aviation enthusiast. “Getting back in the cockpit for the first time since my diagnosis felt like a major milestone in leaving this tough year behind,” he said.

His mum and dad said the Starlight Wish has given the whole family a boost, and given Mitch something positive to look forward to after such a difficult year.

Thanks to the incredible support of our partners, Starlight granted more than 525 wishes to sick kids and teens across Australia last year.

“Every time I was away on that trip I was glowing and in tears of happiness. It cheered up my

husband, me and my kids.”—Parent

Wish Week

Our annual Wish Week brought together nine families from across Australia for another fun-filled trip to the Gold Coast. Wish Week gives families the fun and welcome break of holiday and connects them with other families who have similar life paths. The result is a memorable trip for the family and the creation of friendships and support networks which long outlast the stay. The families were flown from across Australia by Virgin Australia and stayed at NRMA Treasure Island Holiday Park. The week involved fun, relaxation, meeting some friendly dolphins and of course lots of pizza for the kids!

Wishgranting

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Capital Builds

the Starlight Express Room @ Westmead

In June we welcomed Professor Les White AM, NSW Chief Paediatrician and Dr Michael Brydon OAM, Chief Executive of the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network to officially open the new Starlight Express Room at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Our warmest thanks to Founding Partner the Peter Ikin Trust plus major supporters the Fairbridge Foundation and Lend Lease for their significant contribution to this major project. The upgrade was only possible thanks to the commitment and hard work of so many people including the dedicated teams of subcontractors, Westmead hospital staff and our own Starlight team.

COMING IN 2017

2017 is shaping up to be a big year. We will be opening new

Starlight Express Rooms at Perth Children’s Hospital, Monash

Children’s Hospital and Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick.

More fun for more sick kids coming soon!

Doors open at ROYAL DARWINStarlight opened the doors to our first ever Starlight Express Room at the Royal Darwin Hospital. We welcomed children and their families to come and enjoy the new space featuring interactive technology, gaming, arts and crafts and all the fun of Starlight TV. Stay tuned for the official launch event planned for 2017.

OFFICIAL OPENING“My son has PTSD [due

to] intrusive medical procedures. Starlight is a wonderful place

to focus on instead of the appointments.”

—Parent

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“It’s very valuable for long term patients. The Captains being able to

go to the wards and ICU is great. Also being able to request visits from the Captains is good. It’s great that the

room is medical free.” —Parent

The Research and Evaluation Committee looks after all aspects of Starlight’s evaluation projects. Regular evaluation initiatives include Programs Unplugged, a presentation on a specific program area, The Top 3, a weekly team update, and the R&E Snapshots, which provide the latest and greatest in the research arena.

All about Impact

IT’S SO LOGICAL!The Research and Evaluation team has finalised the Program Logic Model for our Captain Starlight Outreach Program.

The result? There is now a program logic model for ALL Starlight programs! This valuable planning tool will help guide each program’s aims, the resources it uses, its goals and desired outcomes. These tools are also a great way to share the principles and logic behind our programs.

Wish feedback POINT TO THE POSITIVE As part of Starlight’s continuous improvement process, every fourth Wishgranting family is invited to participate in a program evaluation undertaken by an independent evaluator to review:

– The quality of service received from Starlight;

– The family’s wish experience, including the impact of the Starlight Wish on the child and their family; and

– Recommendations for improving the program

In 2016, over 130 families participated and the results have highlighted the extremely positive impact of the program.

– 100% of families would recommend Starlight’s Wishgranting program

– A family satisfaction rating of 9.7 out of 10

RESEARCH RULES

Conference talkStarlight participated in various conferences throughout the year including The Caring for Kids Conference. We also presented our Livewire in-hospital Evaluation at the 17th International Mental Health Conference as well as the Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference.

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In 2016 Starlight launched our first Outreach Partner Survey – to hear first-hand from health professionals involved with the program. Here’s what our 52 respondents had to say.

– Majority rated the impact as 9 or 10 out of 10.

– Most agreed that the program was entertaining and engaging and helped to provide positive distractions for children and their families.

– Most noted that Captain Starlight had a positive impact on their work allowing them to be more productive and keeping children occupied and engaged during their visit.

All about Impact

“There was an infant that needed examination but was upset and crying. Captain Starlight suggested they come in and play a soothing song. In the setting of a remote clinic, they did a great job in calming the infant.”

“They have provided excellent support for both patients and families and help cross cultural barriers in all settings.”

“There is not a lot of entertainment for children and families in remote communities and often due to language difficulties families feel worried and frightened at the health centre, so the entertainment helps with relaxing and community engagement.”

“Helps families and children to be more relaxed. Fun and laughter are always therapeutic. Helps the staff cope with the clinical load. Certainly helps with clinic queues!“

CHECKING IN...WITH OUTREACH PARTNERS

—Doctor, Royal Darwin Hospital and Community Health Care Clinic

—Doctor, Community Health Care Clinic, Royal Darwin Hospital and Regional Hospital

—Nurse/CNM, Community Healthcare Clinic

—Doctor, Community Health Clinic and Royal Darwin Hospital

This year Starlight teamed up with leading innovation consultants Inventium to equip 16 team members to become our first ever Innovation Champions. Over 70 team members applied — such is the excitement and energy around innovation at Starlight!

The 16 Champions worked with Inventium to learn about the innovation process, from defining the problem to creating ‘ideation sessions’ and finally prototyping their ideas. The team then applied their knowledge to a Starlight TV project with some truly innovative ideas on show.

Innovation Champions

NEW IDEAS

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Program Development

Orbit has now officially landed in every Starlight Express Room across the country. Our custom-built App, developed in partnership with App experts Odecee, operates every day and provides vital insights into how the rooms are used. These insights will help ensure our programs continue to meet the needs of visitors, now and into the future. Best of all, kids love the interactivity and their very own ‘VIP’ entry cards!

ORBIT’S ON A MISSION!

STARLIGHT EXPRESS ROOMROCKET CARD

Are we there yet?

14540

14540_NFC Card_Captain Starlight_86x54.indd 1 17/06/2015 12:54 pm

Every two years marks a festival of fun and learning with CapFest. This year Captain Starlights converged on Sydney for three days of upskilling, sharing and enhancing the way they interact with small Earthlings! The fun focused on preschool aged children as this age group accounts for the largest

group of admissions in children’s hospitals around Australia.

The creator of ABC TV’s Giggle and Hoot show came along with tips on how to engage with young audiences on Starlight TV (Jimmy Giggle himself also made an appearance…HOOT HOOT!). Polyglot Theatre Company who specialise in immersive theatre showed the Captain Starlights how to create fun for families through play and making — they even challenged the Captain Starlights to build Planet Starlight here on Earth using only paper and cardboard! And Hayden Spencer, internationally renowned clown with Cirque du Soleil, ran a masterclass on performing to a young crowd. The Captain Starlights couldn’t wait to get back to their hospitals and try out their new skills!

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Arts in Health has gone from strength to strength giving kids and teens a fun and creative outlet while in hospital. There was no end to the creative talents on show at Perth’s Princess Margaret Hospital!

For animal lovers (especially kids in hospital missing their favourite pet!) the Pet Project saw Starlight work with Animal Companions and a pet photographer giving kids the chance to star in their own pet photo shoot.

The Garden Surprise project transformed the gardens surrounding the oncology unit into a festival of colour with 140 pink plastic flamingos and 150 bright umbrellas. The patients were thrilled with the amazing transformation. Another Arts in Health project saw patients create wall decals for their hospital rooms featuring themselves as the leading character. Plenty of superheroes on display!

Ignition...IDEA OVERLOAD!At this year’s Ignition event Livewire Facilitators and Chat Hosts met up to explore the new ways to make a positive impact on the lives of teens living with a chronic illness. The teams discovered new ways of using technology in hospital and online with Tea Uglow, Google Australia’s Creative Director. They tapped into the world of youth culture with Triple J, Junkee Media and the Foundation for Young Australians, had a private tour of the Sydney Opera House and heard from inspiring technologist and futurist Dr. Jordan Nyugen.

Arts in HealthPETS & PINK FLAMINGOES!

“The Ignition workshops were so informative and packed full of great ideas to take back to our hospitals. I

was really impressed with the calibre of every guest speaker, and was honoured

to be a part of such a great event!”

GET Livewire READYLivewire Academy: READY opened its doors for the very first time in November. This 3-day course equips new Livewire team members with the skills, knowledge and resources they need to creatively engage and connect with young people to positively impact their wellbeing. Our graduates left feeling energised, inspired and READY to jump into their roles with confidence.

Program Development

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Thank you! We simply couldn’t do it without you.

Documents

PROGRAMS - · PDF fileStarlight programs increase in wish referrals STARLIGHT WISHES GRANTED children, young people and their families attended a ... our hospital partners is key to