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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-07-06 Daily Xml
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HeartKids

Mrs PEARCE (King) (15:24): Not all heroes wear capes, but on 18 June my neighbour, the Minister for Education, and I donned one for the ultimate heroes in our community, children with heart disease. We were there to help judge the children's superhero competition at The Grove helping to raise funds on Hero for HeartKids Day. I embraced the retro vibes as Batgirl from 1966, and the Minister for Education gave the Premier a run for his money by bulking up and rocking it as Mr Incredible.

Organised by The Grove in partnership with Drakes and HeartKids, our community was able to come together to raise much-needed funds for an incredible cause, and by Odin's Beard we had a hell of a time doing it. In addition to the parade, we had a posse of superheroes, a couple of villains amongst the mix, and if you had an eagle eye you could have even spotted a few members from Star Command in attendance as well.

Reminiscent of the League’s Hall of Justice, the centre was a hive of activity with face painting, the Batmobile—and I must say that I struck it lucky because I was in the same multiverse as that car that day—a Captain America themed truck and great prizes for children participating on the day.

In addition to over $1,000 being raised on that day, our local Drakes was able to raise over $11,000 for HeartKids. I understand that, as a whole, Drakes was able to raise about $188,000 in total across their stores.

It is safe to say that the day was an overwhelming success not only because of the funds raised but because of the joy it brought to so many and the awareness it created for such an important cause. The day would not have been a success were it not for the massive amount of work many people put into the day, and I would like to take some time to thank those amazing people who helped make the recent Hero for HeartKids Day a success.

Firstly, I would like to thank Phil Hallard, the store manager at Drakes Foodland, who was able to utilise his contacts to bring together the superheroes and cosplayers; Sarah and The Grove team for turning the centre into a Marvel/DC delight; and Arthur Illiopoulos whose daughter Zoe is a HeartKid. Thank you for the amazing work you put into the day. I also thank Tania Potts, the State Manager for HeartKids, for providing The Grove shopping village with all the information, resources and fundraising tools.

I also thank the volunteers who gave up their time to help on the day, including Lucy Cornes from She Shopped for being the kids costume host; Jodie from Sensing Angels Photographs for providing the photography; and the many superheroes, cosplayers and Batmobile SA for providing the Batmobile in the centre on the day.

You have all helped support HeartKids, an important organisation that provides support to young people affected by congenital heart disease, while also supporting their families. It is an incredible effort especially when one considers they do all this off their back with just two full-time staff. The work is invaluable, and I am so proud that on this side we are also supporting the great work of HeartKids so that they can meet the growing demand of their service.

We recognise their important contribution to the lives of those affected by CHD and their families, and we are investing $1 million into HeartKids over four years. With this money HeartKids will establish a specialised playgroup program for kids with CHD. This is a first ever for early intervention in kids with CHD unable to access such a service from the NDIS. It will deliver a special support and address developmental delays so that they are ready for school.

They will also develop and implement a three-stage mental health program for families affected by CHD. Such a program will deliver intensive counselling to people experiencing PTSD or bereavement from navigating the complex health system or losing a child to CHD.

Lastly, with our investment into HeartKids they will be working with the Women's and Children's Hospital and remote Aboriginal health clinics to deliver support into rural and remote areas of South Australia for families affected by CHD.

As you can see, Mr Speaker, HeartKids is making sure that every dollar counts. In fact, you may say that they would go to Krypton and back to support the children and their families, and it is that which makes them the real heroes of today's tale.

Time expired.

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