CEO OF TOOWOOMBA HOSPITAL FOUNDATION, ALISON KENNEDY
What does the Toowoomba Hospital Foundation offer the Darling Downs region?
The Toowoomba Hospital Foundation remains the charity of choice in the Darling Downs region supporting our hospitals — Toowoomba Hospital, Baillie Henderson Hospital and Mt Lofty Heights Nursing Home.
We are a community organisation at heart, staying connected to our region through a number of events, large and small, that we host throughout the year.
Our fundraising efforts allow us to buy life-saving equipment and resources which significantly impact the lives of our patients and their families.
Often this equipment means that local families do not need to travel, or travel as far, for treatment and instead can stay local with their loved ones.
What are the funds going towards from the evening?
The funds raised at the Stepping Out Winter Glamour Fashion Event will go towards supporting children’s health at the Toowoomba Hospital.
We know that every dollar counts and can make a big difference in the lives of sick kids and their families who visit the hospital.
What sort of other events does the Toowoomba Hospital Foundation get involved with?
The Toowoomba Hospital Foundation is involved with a number of events throughout the year keeping us well connected with the community.
We run a number of Toowoomba Hospital Foundation events which include our very popular Women of Strength event, the Ladies Diamond Luncheon, our Melbourne Cup Luncheon and community events including the Zombie Walk, Teddy Bears’ Picnic and our Heroes and Villains Run/walk.
We are also very privileged to be buoyed by strong support from local community groups and businesses who host events in support of the foundation.
We refer to these as our “working with our mates” events.
These include lunches, golf days and special fundraising events which support the foundation and make what we do possible.
What are you most looking forward to on the night?
As a community-based organisation one of the things we are very lucky to witness on a daily basis is seeing the community band together and get behind a great cause.
I can’t wait to see the Stepping Out Winter Glamour Fashion event come to life as we as a community work together to help our sick kids.
There really is nothing like seeing people get together to make a difference.
Of course, I am also looking forward to seeing all of the wonderful fashion on offer from the fashion houses that are getting involved in this event.
What do you love about living and working in Toowoomba?
There is such a wonderful vibe around Toowoomba at present and with the amount of new cafes and restaurants popping up it seems everyone is rejoicing with the activity in our region.
I love the glorious weather and the four seasons we get to experience and the pride we take in keeping our city so clean and picturesque.
The opportunities for young people to stay and raise a family is so evident in the organisations we get to work with and our community of course is one of the most generous I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of.
We have felt very welcome in Toowoomba from the moment we set foot in this wonderful piece of paradise we call home.