Blooms The Chemist’s network of community pharmacies has been a major partner since 2016 of Make-A-Wish Australia, which it describes as the only charity solely dedicated to realising life-changing wishes for critically ill children.
Here, the pharmacy group explains the arrangement, who’s involved, its impact so far and the highlights and challenges of the charitable initiative.
Why did you decide to partner with the Make-A-Wish Australia charity? Tell us about what you’ve aimed to achieve with them.
As a network of community pharmacies, Blooms The Chemist recognises the importance of connection and collaboration with the communities where our teams work and live. Our unifying purpose is to build a future where everyone, everywhere has access to good health and wellbeing, and our network’s support of organisations like Make-A-Wish Australia further bolsters that commitment.
Who in your organisation is involved?
Together with our communities, our store network has raised more than $1.7 million for Make-A-Wish Australia through local and national fundraising. Our pharmacists, pharmacy teams, local communities and our industry supplier partners have been the driving force behind this incredible milestone.
Our pharmacies continue to support Make-A-Wish from a grassroots level, holding bake sales, sausage sizzles, sporting events such as marathon swims and fun runs, and numerous raffles, competitions and other activities that engage their local communities.
Since 2017 we’ve also hosted an annual Charity Golf Day, which is a well-loved social event supported by our pharmacist owners and key supplier partners.
Our 2022 Golf Day reached a new fundraising milestone of $55,000 and we’ll continue to strive to surpass this target in 2023.
What is the reach or impact of your partnership? Who has benefited from this initiative?
Make-A-Wish Australia receives no government funding and relies solely on the support of organisations, the community and individuals, which is why the Blooms The Chemist network partners with local communities and other businesses to deliver incredibly important fundraising events.
Make-A-Wish’s mission is to grant the wish of every eligible child, with a wish journey that creates a positive, lasting impact on wish kids, their families, and their communities.
Furthermore, the entire Blooms The Chemist network benefits from directly seeing the impact their fundraising support has on wish kids and their families. Watching these kids have a once-in-a-lifetime experience gives us all a true sense of making a tangible difference in the world.
What are the highlights/greatest achievements/successes to date of this initiative?
We’ve made unicorns fly, sent rockets to the moon, and continue to support Make-A-Wish Australia’s vision to grant the wish of every eligible child, but the absolute highlight of our partnership was helping to grant Hannah’s wish.
At birth, Hannah was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and at age five was diagnosed with the rare Aymé-Gripp syndrome. Hannah is also hearing- and vision-impaired and has an intellectual disability.
She absolutely loves lights, and her wish was to attend Vivid Sydney, but her wish was put on hold due to COVID-19.
Blooms The Chemist had the unique opportunity to work alongside Make-A-Wish Australia and Destination NSW to make Hannah’s wish come true. Together, we crafted an incredible VIP experience for Melbourne-based Hannah, her parents and her sister Willow. The entire family were involved in an immersive two-hour personalised tour of the light festival, including an extra special surprise for Hannah.
After hearing about Hannah’s story through Blooms The Chemist, Destination NSW and the team at Vivid Sydney 2022 added a special experience for her to turn on the lights for the ‘Sydney Infinity’ liquid and light show in Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour.
This was such a profound testament to the power of collaboration in making incredible things and experiences happen for some of our most vulnerable people.
What have been some of the challenges in undertaking this partnership?
One of the biggest challenges, and opportunities, was to bring our entire network on the journey. We wanted to share the incredible work of the Make-A-Wish team, and the very personal experiences of wish kids and those most close to them. We spent a lot of time in the initial stage working to inform and inspire our teams, communities and supplier partners about the people Make-A-Wish help, and the real impact of a wish. The impact and outcomes of Make-A-Wish are so moving and wish experiences are so uplifting, despite the adversity faced by these kids, that people can’t help but be inspired.
Are there other organisations/businesses connected with the initiative that have helped you with this partnership?
We couldn’t have achieved our donation milestone without the support of our supplier partners. Our entire industry has been incredibly engaged with our partnership through their support of our fundraisers such as Golf Day, Casino Nights, Trivia Nights and donations through specific product sales campaigns.
What’s your advice to others trying to get initiatives like this off the ground?
Ask your customers and communities about what matters to them. Our partnership with Make-A-Wish began after we engaged with our customers and asked them which charities they felt were most worthy of our support. We’re deeply moved by the level of support our community has shown this charity.
It’s also important to gather buy-in and support from everyone in your organisation. Prioritise the time and energy to helping everyone understand the impact your support will have on those who benefit from charitable and philanthropic initiatives.
Is there anything else you’d like to include in this great story?
Make-A-Wish Australia is well-known across Australia, but many people may be unaware of the impact of a wish. Through 37 years of feedback from families and a growing body of international research, we now know wishes can improve resilience in the child and their families, provide an important distraction from the child’s illness and treatment, and create a sense of normalcy.
In Australia, there are currently more than 800 kids across Australia waiting for their wish. By supporting Make-A-Wish Australia, we’re helping create a positive, lasting impact, helping children discover that, despite their situation, anything is possible.
This feature was originally published in the May issue of Retail Pharmacy magazine.
