An incredible total of $3,301,334 was raised for The Footy Show Grand Final Eve: My Room Telethon on Friday night – another giant step closer to the aim of achieving a 100 per cent cure for childhood cancer.
With further donations over the weekend, today’s final tally broke the record for the most money raised on the Telethon which the Footy Show has staged for My Room every year since 2016.
Sunday Footy Show host Tony Jones, along with Billy Brownless, Nathan Brown, Matthew Lloyd, Damian Barrett and Kane Cornes, were joined by Rebecca Maddern and Shane Crawford in The Lott Hub for a jam-packed television spectacular that smashed the previous fundraising results for the My Room Children’s Cancer Charity.
The My Room Telethon has now raised the grand total of $10,588,621 over six years. The money donated will again go straight towards striving for better outcomes for children with cancer, including clinical research projects, improving the quality of patient and family care, and supporting the Monash Children’s Hospital Cancer Centre.
AFL Grand Final captains Max Gawn and Marcus Bontempelli joined the Telethon to show their support and gave the last word less than 24 hours before the big game. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as we shared the moving stories of four patients from Monash Children’s Hospital. Plus, great musical performances came from Southern Sons lead singer Jack Jones and upcoming UK music star Tom Grennan.
Footy fans were treated to their favourite Sunday Footy Show segments, including What Caught My Eye, and special Grand Final editions of Browny’s Quiz and Billy’s Animal Facts, where Billy Brownless, celebrating his final Telethon with Channel 9, was joined by some of Australia’s furriest and scariest creatures for his top five animal facts.
Porter Davis and Satterley showed their tremendous support for the cause by donating a beautiful four-bedroom home built in the Arcadia estate in Officer. Unfortunately, due to COVID, the auction could not take place prior to the Telethon. However, Porter Davis and Satterley made an extremely generous pledge of $600,000. The Home for a Cure auction will take place on Thursday, October 14, at 5.00pm. It is expected that the home will sell for more than $600,000, and any amount above that figure will also go to My Room.
Maurizio Marcocci, Chairman, and Margaret Zita OAM, CEO of My Room, thanked everyone for their support in a joint statement.
“On behalf of everyone at My Room Children’s Cancer Charity, we are so grateful with the ongoing support from everyone that donated to the Telethon this year. We were blown away by the generosity. We’ve come a long way since our humble beginnings of wanting to renovate the rooms of the cancer ward, as we continue to support families, fund clinical care, medical equipment, research and trials that we hope will lead us to our goal.
“The record-breaking amount of $3,301,334 could not have been possible without the generosity of our loyal business networks, pro bono partners, corporate donors, My Room ambassadors and the amazing team at Nine, including the talent who have given My Room Children’s Cancer Charity such a voice.
“Most importantly, a big thank you to the public for their generosity, and to the bravery of the patients who told their stories from Monash Children’s Hospital – it is for all children that we continue to work towards a 100 per cent cure rate. We will now forge forward to ensure that we get this money where it is needed. The children will get the best treatment they deserve in this country, as well as supporting them on their journey. Together we are definitely making a difference.”
Managing Director of Nine Melbourne, Matt James, said:
