Nadine will be participating in this year’s Good Friday Appeal.
Courtesy of Sunday Herald Sun.
THE ROYAL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL GOOD FRIDAY APPEAL
Friday 9.30am, Seven
There are not too many charities where there is a waiting list to be a volunteer but, as Jennifer Keyte is quick to point out, the Good Friday Appeal is unique.
“There’s hundreds of people wanting to get on the phones (to take donations), but we’ve got volunteers who have been doing this for 40 years … and they’re not about to give up their seats.”
The Seven newsreader and Good Friday Appeal patron has been working on-and-off with the charity for 19 years, but says she is constantly amazed by the generosity of Victorians.
“I’ve been involved with many charities and it can be very difficult with the economy the way it is, but the community support for the Children’s Hospital has always been outstanding,” she says.
“When we cracked the $10 million mark a few years ago, everyone said, `Where do we go from here?’ But the amount just seems to go up every year.”
After a record $11,788,970.87 was donated in 2007, there is a chance the $12 million mark could be reached this year.
Asked why the support is so strong, Keyte simply says: “It’s the children.” After a pause she adds: “I guess we’ve all been touched by the hospital in some way. My kids (James, 8, and Alexander, 5) have been there a couple of times and so have my friends’ kids.
“I remember rushing in at three o’clock in the morning in a panic, feeling vulnerable and helpless and there’s always some beautiful person in the emergency area who says the things you need to hear. So when you get a chance to help you don’t hesitate.”
Celebrities will include Andrew O’Keefe, Grant Denyer, Johanna Griggs, Peter Mitchell, Nadine Garner and Shane Bourne.
“It’s a day when the egos are put to one side,” Keyte says. “Well, by most people . . . it is television, after all.”