May 27, 2021

Hannah’s House Mums High Tea

This year has been one of many celebrations for Hannah’s House. As part of our Peer-to-Peer Support Events program, earlier on in the year, we celebrated Easter with a party for our families at Adventure World. Our most recent event was all about the Hannah’s House Mums! These are mothers of children who have a life-limiting or complex condition and are currently being supported by Hannah’s House. We understand that caring for a child with complex care needs is a labour of love that can be isolating. That’s why we believe that these inspiring mothers deserve to be celebrated! These ‘Mums Only’ events give these women a chance to socialise and connect with others who are on similar journeys as them.

We treated the Mums to a high tea at Royal Perth Yacht Club. Thanks to support from WA Charity Direct, we were able to make this afternoon our biggest Mums event ever! We extended the invite to the grandmothers of Hannah’s House families who are also involved in supporting the child. In a private room with spectacular views of the river, we welcomed almost 50 guests. This was a great turnout, and we appreciated that the Mums took time out of their busy schedules to spend the afternoon with us.

   

The afternoon started with guest mingling over a glass of sparkling and canapés before taking their seats. Hannah’s House Business Development Manager Lee-Anne Ashley welcomed our guests and introduced Hannah’s House Board Chair Anne McCormack.  Anne shared the story of the inspiration behind Hannah’s House; founding Board Members Jacky Vigurs (who also attended) and Martin Watson’s own journey supporting their daughter Hannah who was born with a rare condition called Opitz Trigonocephaly. She also spoke words of support for the new Perth Children’s Hospice, and how Hannah’s House will work closely alongside it to continue to provide a high standard of care within the community.

We also heard from one of our own cherished mums, Rebecca Collins who bravely shared her story about her son Marc who was born with a rare brain malformation called Lissencephaly. Marc sadly passed away in 2018, Hannah’s House nurses were there to provide end-of-life care in the family home. It was a privilege to have supported Marc and his family through this time and to still be a part of their lives.

Along with the Mums and Grandmas, we were joined by Sandra Ursino and Pauline Eves of WA Charity Direct who made this event possible. Sandra shared some words on how wonderful it was to see the direct impact they were making in our families lives.

Telethon Trustees Christine Simpson Stokes AM and Tonya McCusker AM, and Grant Manager Charlee Mair also attended. It was a great opportunity for them to witness the stories of Hannah’s House families who received pro-bono services thanks to funding from Telethon.

As an added treat, we held a special raffle for our guests. Our friends at Big W Mirrabooka donated three hampers of pampering products and sweets. While Ego Pharmaceuticals contributed two hampers of skincare as prizes, plus they gave away hand creams as a gift to everyone who came along. We continue to be amazed by the generosity of both Big W Mirrabooka and Ego Pharmaceuticals. We thank them for their kindness.  As a separate prize pool for just the mums, some lucky few went home with just the beautiful flower arrangements from the tables.

Hannah’s House CEO Jonine Collins concluded the event by thanking everyone who joined us and announcing some of the exciting changes happening at Hannah’s House including introducing Linda Locke who has started as our new Director of Clinical Services (more on her story soon!)

The aim of our Peer-to-Peer Support Events is to provide our families with a safe space to socialise and feel a sense of belonging. It was special to see all these lovely ladies’ wide smiles and hearing their chatter from all around the room. Our sincere thanks to WA Charity Direct for supporting this program and treating these incredible mums to a lovely afternoon.

The next Hannah’s House event is a football game for the Hannah’s House Dads! Stay tuned for more details from their day.

Find out how you can provide care, comfort and joy to children with life-limiting conditions and their families here