Airdate: Light Up Xmas Appeal

Nine screens a Light Up Xmas Appeal for the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation next week.

It will be presented by Nine personalities David Campbell, Sylvia Jeffreys, Belinda Russell, Richard Wilkins, Tim Davies, Lara Vella, and Erin Molan with performers including Delta Goodrem, The Wiggles and more.

Australian treasure Delta Goodrem will perform a beautiful rendition from her latest deluxe edition Christmas album before The Block’s country honey, Kirsty Lee Ackers, performs her original song, I Never Want Christmas to End. There will be a very sneaky surprise from the band responsible for fond Aussie childhood memories since 1991, The Wiggles. And viewers will also see special family appearances from 2GB’S Ben Fordham and The Block’s Mitch and Mark, who will share their firsthand experiences of the incredible support provided by Sydney’s healthcare professionals.

Today’s Allison Langdon, Brooke Boney and Tim Davies, newsreader Peter Overton and Weekend Today’s Belinda Russell will tell the touching stories of families who have relied on Sydney’s front line child healthcare services after the unimaginable heartache of discovering their child is gravely unwell.

Stories include:

Caleb, now 15, who overcame a stage four brain tumour and regained his cheeky smile who just recently, after six years, received the news he was cancer free.
Little Sofia, who was born with the most severe case of Nonketotic Hyperglycinemia (NKH), an extremely rare metabolic disorder that affects one in 60,000 babies.
Charmaine, the mother who followed her instincts and discovered one-year-old Marcus had the rarest type of mitochondrial DNA disease in the world, called FBXL4 mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome – a condition which takes the life of one in three children before the age of three.
Bright and bubbly Eleanor with a mystery illness that later became the first diagnosis of its kind in the world.
And twin baby Lion, who weighed less than a bag of flour when born four months premature and given a grave diagnosis after contracting a debilitating infection.

All donations received during the Light Up Xmas Appeal will support Sydney’s vital network of child healthcare services, including The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, Kids Research, the Newborn and paediatric Emergency Transport Service (NETS), and the only children’s hospice in NSW, Bear Cottage.

More than 4,900 kids spent time in Sydney’s children’s hospitals last December, and while the festive season is one to celebrate, some families are left wishing for a Christmas miracle. By supporting the Light Up Xmas Appeal, just one donation can go towards helping all sick children at any time of year, regardless of their age, illness, or injury.

From the toddlers to the teenagers, the inner cities to the outer suburbs, regional, rural and beyond – funds raised for Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation will help give all sick kids a brighter Christmas.

To donate to the appeal, go to www.schf.org.au or call 1800 770 122.

2pm Saturday December 18 on Nine (Sydney), and 9Now after broadcast.