September 5, 2017
Being dentists on the Gold and Tweed Coast, and at Redland Bay, the well-being of all the people surrounding us is a matter close to our hearts. The wishes of the youngest ones amongst us are especially touching. This is why Coastal Dental Care decided to support the Make-A-Wish Gold Coast branch this year.
The organisation is one of 52 branches around Australia who grant wishes to children with life-threatening conditions. More than 40 volunteers work hard on the Gold Coast alone to give these kids a very special experience.
“Wishes can be everything,” explains Gold Coast branch President Leah Lang.
“Some children just want to participate in the daily life – some of them haven’t been able to go to school for a while and couldn’t make friends as usual.
“One girl just wished for a circus party in her backyard with 25 other children from school so that she could be part of that group and make some friends.”
But there are also the more complicated wishes, such as seeing a flying unicorn.
“We had the help of the whole community to make this wish come true,” Leah explains.
“Graphic designers, a horse, and so many people who supported us.
“Most of the children are referred to the charity by doctors or hospitals.
“The Gold Coast branch alone fulfils 40-50 wishes of the 600 wishes of children Australia wide each year.”
Even though it is all volunteer work and members of the community are often happy to support granting the wishes, donations and money from fundraisers are essential for the foundation – a tough job for Leah and her team.
“It is not easy to find companies that donate or fundraise for us. There is just lots of other charities around on the Gold Coast,” she says.
This is all the more reason for Coastal Dental Care to become involved and to support Make-A-Wish.
We will participate in their upcoming “Mermaids and Moonlight” Gala Ball fundraiser which will take place on September 16 at the Crowne Plaza in Surfers Paradise.
As heard on Sea FM and Gold FM, our practice in Mudgeeraba will also fundraise for the Make-A-Wish branch all September and donate the money to support granting more wishes.
Coastal Dental Care Mudgeeraba’s principal dentist, Dr Alison Downes, has always wanted to become more involved with charities, especially one which works with children.
“A lot of my colleagues have done volunteer work overseas, which does appeal to me, but I would prefer to focus on the children right here in our local community that are in need,” says Alison.
There were so many charitable organisations for Alison to choose from, but Make-A-Wish Gold Coast President Leah, who has been a patient at Coastal Dental Care Mudgeeraba for years, told Alison about her work and highly impressed her.
“By supporting Make-A-Wish we would not only be helping the children of our local community, but also helping one of our patients to continue to make a huge difference in people’s lives,” Alison says.
“We need more people like Leah, who give up their free time to improve the quality of life of others.”
This will be the first experience Dr Alison Downes and our practice at Mudgeeraba will have in working with children outside of the dental setting, and everyone is looking forward to helping Leah and Make-A-Wish put smiles on children’s faces.
To date, Make-A-Wish has not had a dental-related wish – but if one ever comes up, Dr Alison Downes and our whole team at Coastal Dental Care is happy to support it!