Proudly Supporting the Starlight Children’s Foundation in 2019

In 2018, Sunbank Solar partnered with the Starlight Children’s Foundation to power the smiles of seriously-ill children at the Starlight Express Room. Here’s how we created smiles in 2018.

We had a goal to raise a serious amount of money

Through the installation of every Tesla Powerwall 2, we contributed $15 to our very high goal of $25,000 to power the fantastic work at the Starlight Children’s Foundation Express Room. The Express Room provides a sanctuary for seriously-ill children and their families to enjoy some quality time together and get down to the serious business of being kids.

Away from sterile environments, needles, chemotherapy and doctors, the Express Room bursts at the seams with joy, laughter, energy and excitement.

 

 

We surpassed that goal

Across all the efforts of Sunbank Solar, the team far exceeded our original goal and raised $34,072.95 to the cause! A donation of this capacity has the power to support up to 820 seriously-ill children with access to the Starlight Express Room.

We’re very glad to have partnered with the Starlight Children’s Foundation in 2018 and look forward to partnering with them again in 2019.  

Here’s Jasmine’s Story  

Seven-year-old Jasmine can be a little shy at first, but once she opens up she’s a lot of fun – she loves dancing, arts and crafts, and is a keen animal lover. She also loves to get outside and play sport whenever she can, and is full of energy. That’s why her mum, Vanessa, knew something wasn’t right when she had a cold that lingered much longer than normal. Jasmine was pale and lethargic, not herself at all.

Vanessa took Jasmine to the doctor, who recommended some blood tests – just in case. It’s what any parent would do, never suspecting anything would be seriously wrong. It was the day before Mother’s Day when Jasmine had the blood tests. Mother’s Day will never be the same again for this family.

The test results came back, and within hours their whole lives had been turned upside down. Jasmine had leukaemia. “At that stage I didn’t realise that there couldn’t be any treatment done in Canberra,” said Vanessa. “And so one minute they’re saying ‘I think your daughter has leukaemia’, and the next minute they’re saying ‘We’re going to get you on a helicopter straight to Sydney’.”

At the beginning, Jasmine didn’t understand what was going to happen. When they arrived at the hospital, she saw some other children who had lost their hair as a result of their chemotherapy. Vanessa remembers her saying, “Oh, Mum, they’re so much sicker than me. At least I’m not going to lose my hair or anything.” It broke Vanessa’s heart to have to explain that the treatment she would be going through would, in fact, make her lose her hair, and much more.