Media release

Record funds raised to support Curing Homesickness

19 April 2022

In just two weeks, Coles shoppers and team members have raised more than $1.3 million to help support sick children and babies in hospitals as part of the Curing Homesickness fundraising appeal.

Customers across Australia rallied behind the campaign to help children’s hospital foundations and paediatric services across Australia fund vital new projects, research and equipment for sick kids and their families.

In Coles’ most successful single fundraising appeal for Curing Homesickness, over $1.3 million was raised from donation cards, customer donations, store fundraising and sales of Mum’s Sause pasta sauces and pizza sauce with 50c from every jar sold going to the cause.

This year’s record appeal takes the total funds raised for Curing Homesickness to nearly $5 million since 2019 when Mum’s Sause first hit the shelves at Coles.

Curing Homesickness Director Nicola Stokes thanked Coles customers and team members for their support to help make a real difference to the lives of sick children and their families.

“We are inspired by the wonderful response to this year’s Curing Homesickness card campaign, with Coles customers giving more generously than ever before,” she said.

“Our children’s hospitals are extremely grateful that Coles customers and store teams across Australia have embraced the cause with so much enthusiasm, and we would like to thank them for their ongoing commitment to helping get kids home from hospital sooner.”

Coles Chief Operations Officer Matt Swindells said Coles was proud of how customers and team members had got behind children’s hospitals for another year of the Curing Homesickness fundraising appeal.

“Our fundraising appeal has continued to go from strength to strength since Curing Homesickness began three years ago, and we’re delighted to be able to help fund vital equipment and services to help sick children in children’s hospitals across Australia.”

“Once again our customers and team members have gone above and beyond in their support of our partnerships with children’s hospitals across Australia, and we can’t thank them enough for their efforts in helping to get sick kids home from hospital sooner.”

In NSW¹ nearly $400,000 was raised to help support the virtualKIDS service at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network and over $261,000 was raised to help enable John Hunter Children’s Hospital in Newcastle to pilot an early transfer home service for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit patients.

In Victoria, more than $223,000 was raised to help Monash Children’s Hospital purchase the best technology to deliver its stem cell program for premature babies.

Queensland shoppers raised over $181,000 to help fund a pilot program with a child life therapist at The Prince Charles Hospital children’s services (Emergency Department, short stay) for a period of two years.

In Western Australia, more than $127,000 was raised for the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation to help fund research, innovative equipment and technology to help give kids with cystic fibrosis a longer life.

More than $80,000 was raised in South Australia and the Northern Territory to help fund Smileyscope virtual reality goggles for use at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, which is based in Adelaide but also treats patients from NT.

Nearly $36,000 was raised in the ACT to further assist the Canberra Hospital Foundation to deliver an In-Home Therapeutic Massage program for parents and caregivers.

The Royal Hobart Hospital Women’s and Children’s Services in Tasmania will receive over $8,000 to help support clinical research to improve the medical care and experience of Tasmanian children living with chronic conditions.

Shoppers can continue to support Curing Homesickness by purchasing a Mum’s Sause pasta sauce or pizza sauce with 50c from every jar sold going to support a partner children’s hospital foundation or paediatric service in Australia.

2022 Curing Homesickness campaign - top fundraising stores

¹ Exceptions are Coles supermarkets in Deniliquin, Lavington and Albury in NSW where funds are directed to Victoria, and Broken Hill where funds are directed to South Australia.