McGuinness-McDermott Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Little Heroes Foundation, previously the McGuinness McDermott Foundation, was launched in May 1996 in memory of five-year-old Nicholas Berry, and seven year old Nathan Maclean who died of cancer. The Foundation raises funds to improve oncology treatment for South Australia
n children. The Foundation was established by former Adelaide Football Club players Tony McGuinness and Chris McDermott
.
, North Adelaide
. The majority of the Foundation's activities aim to support the hospital in its treatment of cancer.
The Foundation has undertaken or provided support to a number of projects including:
The Foundation raises funds through a variety of means ranging from direct donations, sale of specialised merchandise, to special events - often with a sporting theme.
The most widely publicised event is the "Slow Down"http://www.mcfoundation.org.au/content.asp?id=3. Slow Down is an annual Australian rules football match held at the end of the regular season, with teams drawn mostly from ex-AFL
and SANFL players. The players competing are loosely aligned to the two Adelaide
-based AFL sides: Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power
. The name "Slow Down" is a play on words to the local football derby between Adelaide and Port Adelaide, which is promoted as a "Showdown". For a gold coin entrance fee spectators enjoy a lighthearted game where entertainment is more the aim than the actual outcome on the scoreboard. Attendance in 2005 was over 30,000.
Other fund-raising activities include charity golf
events, special event Luncheons, and sales from specialist items such as modified versions of the popular board games, Monopoly
and Trivial Pursuit
.
and Mercedes CLK 280.
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n children. The Foundation was established by former Adelaide Football Club players Tony McGuinness and Chris McDermott
Chris McDermott
Chris McDermott is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League.Chris McDermott was the inaugural captain of the Adelaide Crows. He was initially signed by Fitzroy in 1981 but chose to stay loyal to the Glenelg Football Club and reap the rewards of the South...
.
Projects
Oncology treatment for children in South Australia is chiefly undertaken at the Women's and Children's HospitalWomen's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide
The Women's and Children's Hospital is located on King William Road in North Adelaide, Australia.It is one of the major hospitals in Adelaide and is a teaching hospital of the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Flinders University....
, North Adelaide
North Adelaide
North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands.-History:...
. The majority of the Foundation's activities aim to support the hospital in its treatment of cancer.
The Foundation has undertaken or provided support to a number of projects including:
- Extensions to the Ronald McDonald Children's ClinicRonald McDonald House CharitiesRonald McDonald House Charities is an independent 501c3 organization whose mission is to create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well being of children across the world...
- Establishment of the Brookman Cancer Ward
- Extensions to the DialysisDialysisIn medicine, dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure...
Unit - Improvements to the Adolescent Ward
- Purchase of an x-rayX-rayX-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
machine and refurbishment of the Medical ImagingMedical imagingMedical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...
rooms - Upgrading of the holding bay in Paediatric Theatres
- Upgrading the EndocrinologyEndocrinologyEndocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions called hormones, the integration of developmental events such as proliferation, growth, and differentiation and the coordination of...
and Diabetes Centre - The purchase of a HPLC machine for the GastroenterologyGastroenterologyGastroenterology is the branch of medicine whereby the digestive system and its disorders are studied. The name is a combination of three Ancient Greek words gaster , enteron , and logos...
Unit - The purchase of the MRI scanner
- EndoscopicEndoscopyEndoscopy means looking inside and typically refers to looking inside the body for medical reasons using an endoscope , an instrument used to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Unlike most other medical imaging devices, endoscopes are inserted directly into the organ...
Theatre Suite Redevelopment
Fund-Raising Activities
- Main article: West End SlowdownWest End SlowdownThe West End Slowdown is an annual charity Australian rules football match run by the Little Heroes Foundation to raise funds to improve oncology treatment for South Australian children....
The Foundation raises funds through a variety of means ranging from direct donations, sale of specialised merchandise, to special events - often with a sporting theme.
The most widely publicised event is the "Slow Down"http://www.mcfoundation.org.au/content.asp?id=3. Slow Down is an annual Australian rules football match held at the end of the regular season, with teams drawn mostly from ex-AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
and SANFL players. The players competing are loosely aligned to the two Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
-based AFL sides: Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide Power
Port Adelaide Football Club
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
. The name "Slow Down" is a play on words to the local football derby between Adelaide and Port Adelaide, which is promoted as a "Showdown". For a gold coin entrance fee spectators enjoy a lighthearted game where entertainment is more the aim than the actual outcome on the scoreboard. Attendance in 2005 was over 30,000.
Other fund-raising activities include charity golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
events, special event Luncheons, and sales from specialist items such as modified versions of the popular board games, Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
and Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit is a board game in which progress is determined by a player's ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. The game was created in 1979 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Canadian Chris Haney, a photo editor for Montreal's The Gazette and Scott Abbott, a sports...
.
Controversy
Financial reports for the McGuinness McDermott Foundation in 2007-08, obtained by The Advertiser from the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs, shows that part of the funds raised for the McGuinness McDermott Foundation were being used to lease a BMW X5BMW X5
The BMW X5 is a luxury crossover SUV introduced in 1999 as the first generation E53. It was BMW's first SUV also known as "Four-by-Four" in the UK. It features all-wheel drive which is branded as the "X" drive system and is available with either manual or automatic transmission...
and Mercedes CLK 280.