APR 13, 2016 Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was Telethon’s special guest today to hand out $25.8 million to 40 West Australian organisations as a result of Telethon 2015.
Here is the full coverage of the event from The West Australian and online at thewest.com.au
Over 500 people gathered at Crown Perth as Telethon’s $25.8 million record raised in 2015 was handed out to 40 different charities by the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The celebration was also attended by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, newly appointed State Minister for Health John Day, Shadow Minister for Health Roger Cook and Telethon Trustees including Trust Chairman Kerry Stokes AC. The Prime Minister and Mr Stokes both talked about how important the funds raised by West Australians were to the community of WA.
Mr Stokes announced Chevron as a new Million Dollar Partner with Telethon as they committed $1m over the next twelve months to be used by Telethon Speech & Hearing in Wembley for The Pilbara Chevron Ear Health Program. The program will be delivered by Telethon Speech & Hearing and will provide much needed ear health services for over 1,000 Pilbara Aboriginal children and see the launch of the first ever Ear Health Portal for Western Australia. Ear disease causes hearing loss and hearing loss stops children accessing education. Ear disease is significantly higher among Aboriginal children and has lifelong consequences without early prevention and treatment action. The Chevron Ear Health Portal will leave a lasting legacy by significantly improving the coordination of services and access to information to ensure all children receive the highest quality of care.
The highlight of the event was 10 year old Scott Guerini‘s speech about his journey since the age of 4, fundraising for Telethon. Telethon CEO Steve Mummery presented Scott with an award as Telethon’s “Littlest Highest Fundraiser” for raising $100,000.
It was the final role for 2015’s Little Telethon Stars Jayton Carter and Alyssa Bolger who arrived at the celebration with Fat Cat. Mr Mummery told the audience what superb ambassadors they had been over their journey with Telethon. Two new Little Telethon Stars will be announced in the coming months.
Telethon 2016 will be held over the weekend of October 15 & 16.
See a full list of the 2015 Telethon Beneficiaries.
NOTE: Telethon 2015 was held over the weekend of October 17 & 18. Charities were informed of their grant success by December 20, 2015 and have been able to draw on funds since then.