From Monday 5 May to Monday 30 June, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation (SCHF) is calling on the community to come together to change the future for sick kids through Sydney Sick Kids Appeal (SSKA). The appeal aims to change the future for sick and injured children across New South Wales and beyond by supporting Sydney’s two children’s hospitals and essential services, Kids Research, NETS and Bear Cottage.  

The highlight of Sydney Sick Kids Appeal is Sydney Sick Kids Day, this year held on Thursday 5 June. Sydney Sick Kids Day is a day where we come together as a community to remember that every child in hospital is a childhood on hold and to encourage the community to support sick kids across NSW and beyond.

What’s happening on Sydney Sick Kids Day?

Mark your calendars for Sydney Sick Kids Day on Thursday 5 June. We have an exciting line up of activities, and you can be part of it!

Vivid Sydney Partnership

We’re proud to be the official charity partner of Vivid Sydney 2025, the city’s world-renowned festival of light, music and ideas running from 23 May to 14 June. As part of Vivid’s 2025 theme, ‘Dream’, SCHF is bringing the incredible dreams of sick kids to life. 

Dream Scene is SCHF’s immersive light installation on the Vivid Light Walk at Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour. This digital mural showcases artwork created by young patients from Sydney’s two children’s hospitals. Visitors can get involved by drawing their own dreams at interactive stations and seeing them projected in lights. 

This unique installation allows visitors to ‘press play’ on childhood and helps sick kids continue dreaming, even from hospital.  

Visit our activation at Tumbalong Park from 6pm–8pm on Sydney Sick Kids Day for: 

• Ambassador meet and greets 

• Giveaways and prizes 

• Interactive art stations where you can project your own dream onto the light wall 

• Support from local restaurants around the park 

Art competition & special visitors

From 3–5 June, kids at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick will be taking part in a dream-themed art competition, supported by visits from SCHF ambassadors and special surprise visitors!  

Stream Team challenge

Our community of unstoppable content creators are leading the charge to help change the future for sick kids. Log on this Sydney Sick Kids Day and join in as our Stream Team takes on a digital fundraising challenge. Streamers across platforms will be playing their favourite games while raising vital funds for sick kids. Being part of Stream Team is a fun, creative way to rally an online audience for a great cause.

Train station takeover – thanks to Fire & Rescue NSW

Across major Sydney CBD train stations, firefighters from Fire & Rescue NSW will be out collecting donations in their signature red buckets. It’s an easy way for commuters to give back on their way to work and meet our incredible FRNSW supporters in the process. 

Double your impact with matched giving

Thanks to a generous anonymous donor, all donations made on Thursday 5 June will be dollar-matched up to $250,000. That means every gift you make is instantly doubled, helping more kids like Josh access life-saving care and benefit from groundbreaking research, as well as making a kid’s stay in hospital a brighter one.

Your support helps kids like Josh

After a routine trip to the GP with a sore elbow, Josh was diagnosed with an aggressive and hard-to-treat form of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. After enduring multiple rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant that ultimately failed, his family was preparing for the unthinkable, for him to enter palliative care. 

But thanks to a revolutionary treatment called CAR T-cell therapy which uses a child’s own immune cells to fight cancer, Josh was given his future back. In just six months, he went from palliative care to being in remission. Today, he’s a regular teenager, going to school, making plans for the future and working a part-time job. 

Now, SCHF are supporting research and trials to help more kids with hard-to-treat cancer access this groundbreaking therapy. 

Stories like Josh’s are possible because of generous donors. Your donations fund the research, treatments and hospital experiences that are changing the future for kids like Josh. 

How you can get involved this Sydney Sick Kids Day

Whether you’re at home, at work, visiting Vivid Sydney or following along online, there are countless ways to support sick kids this Sydney Sick Kids Day: 

• Donate online or call our friendly team on 1800 244 537 

• Visit the activation at Tumbalong Park at Vivid Sydney from 6–8pm on Thursday 5 June 

• Fundraise at your school, club or workplace 

• Join our Stream Team and create your own live stream to fundraise for sick kids 

• Volunteer your time  

• Tune in to 7News on 5 June for coverage throughout the day

Press play on childhood

This Sydney Sick Kids Day, we’re asking you to pause your regular day, remember that every child in hospital is a childhood on hold and help press play on childhood for sick kids.

Join us on Thursday 5 June so, together, we can change the future for sick kids.