Posted On: February 19, 2019
Jane, along with her brother, son and daughter-in-law were keen to do something to give back to the community and help children. But what?
“We wanted to do something for a while,” said Jane, a Sydney Sutherland Shire local. “Then we went to a fundraiser where Col Reynolds spoke about The Kids’ Cancer Project and everything just fell into place.”
“I’ve had cancer along with all the treatment that goes with it,” she said. "It’s just something that kids shouldn’t have to go through."
"It made sense that we’d support a charity that funds medical research to find better treatments and a cure for children."
Having determined who they were going to support, the philanthropic family put their heads together on how.
Jane is a medical secretary, her brother Stuart a business banker, her son Tim a web developer and daughter-in-law Laura runs an online business while looking after two young boys. They pooled their ideas, skills and address books and came up with a winning idea – a fundraising dinner with a catchy name.
Shine Bright for the Kids was established, and their very first event was held in 2013.
L-R: Laura, Stuart, Tim and Jane at the 2017 event with Col Reynolds, Founder and Director of The Kids' Cancer Project alongside Owen Finegan, CEO of the charity. 
Revellers at the 2017 event.
This year the family are looking forward to hosting their fifth event and it’s all happening on Friday 29 March.
Tickets are on sale now at $130 per person – incredible value considering it includes a three-course meal, drinks and fantastic live entertainment.
Party-goers will also be invited to spend big on amazing raffles along with live and silent auctions. Naturally, all money raised goes toward childhood cancer research, and Dr Geoff McCowage, a paediatric oncologist at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead will be attending to answer any questions people have on the subject.
Also attending will be Sarah and Joshua Weir who tragically lost their daughter Evie Grace to neuroblastoma just before Christmas 2017. From diagnosis in 2013 at two years of age, Sarah wrote about Evie’s journey in a blog titled Pray for Evie. Sarah will share some of that journey with guests on the night.
Read more: Pray for Evie.
But if you’re planning on attending this year’s dinner, be quick! This event always sells out within weeks of being advertised.
“Last time we had to knock guests back because tickets sold-out three weeks prior, and unfortunately some of our regulars missed out,” said Jane. “But it was lovely to see so many new faces.”
This is one family that know how to put the fun into fundraising. To date they, along with their very generous guests have raised a whopping $300,000; enough to fund one science project for three years or more. Yet, the team are not resting on their laurels.
“We respect Col so much. We made a pledge to keep supporting him and raising money for The Kids’ Cancer Project until there’s no need for fundraising anymore because a cure has been found.”
Donate to research and help find more effective treatments for kids with cancer.