IMAGINE being a kid and admitted to hospital without your pyjamas? Sadly, that’s the reality for so many kids in Alice Springs Hospital.
80 percent of sick kids (aged between 5-12 years old) admitted to the hospital are from regional and remote communities across Central Australia and many rarely have time to pack a bag, say goodbye to family or prepare for admission.
Well, that’s all about to change with Starlight’s new Deadly Threads kids’ hospital pyjamas.
And what better way to launch than with a fun pyjama party at the Starlight Connection Space at Alice Springs Hospital.
To mark the celebration, Captain Starlight and hospital staff helped hand out the new pyjamas to sick kids on the paediatric ward. Nurses even swapped their scrubs for their own PJs to join in the party atmosphere! The new PJs will help make a big difference to sick kids stay in hospital.
Often, kids arrive with little or no spare clothing or sleepwear of their own and feel uncomfortable and disconnected from their culture and country in the new, foreign hospital setting.
Let’s face it, standard-issue hospital blue pyjamas aren’t that kid-friendly!
To overcome this, Starlight has designed and manufactured colourful new pyjamas in four sizes with a more culturally-inclusive design. The designs incorporate symbols from Starlight’s Indigenous branding and speak to cultural motifs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from across Australia.
This simple piece of clothing has the power to impact kids’ mood, wellbeing and resilience in a situation that is often already filled with anxiety and fear. And that’s a big win for their overall health.
In line with our reconciliation vision, the Deadly Threads project is a lasting celebration of Starlight’s commitment to Australia’s First People. The fabric design was created by Jenna Lee, Larrakia descendent and Senior Artist from Indigenous creative agency Gilimbaa and the artwork represents Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children as well as all Australian children, radiating positivity and resilience.
To meet the need for 4,000 PJ sets in the hospital over the next three years, Starlight needs your help.
The last thing sick kids need when they’re admitted to hospital is a pyjama drama! With your help, they won’t have to.
Starlight is calling on our incredible community of supporters to help fund Deadly Threads’ initial roll out in Central Australia and to expand the program to help more kids in remote and regional communities.
Find out how you can help now. Contact Karen Hickling at Karen.Hickling@starlight.org.au or on 0411 820 413.
Story Source: Starlight Foundation
Ryan Fritz
Ryan Fritz started The Advocate in 2014 to provide not-for-profits and charities another media platform to tell their worthwhile hard news stories and opinion pieces effortlessly. In 2020, Ryan formed a team of volunteer journalists to help spread even more high-quality stories from the third sector. He also has over 10 years experience as a media and communications professional for not-for-profits and charities and currently works at Redkite, a childhood cancer charity.
