I'm staying Up All Night for WA families with sick kids

I’m once again looking forward to another year of Up All Night, this time from from late night 21 March to early morning on 22 March 2026, raising funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities Western Australia (RMHC WA).

As many of you reading this will know, our family got to experience Ronald McDonald House firsthand back in 2014, when our eldest son Carter had to have open-heart surgery. We entered that house with trepidation, having just said goodbye to our home and friends in Geraldton, and found a place of calm where we could prepare Carter for his surgery. As parents we could take shifts at his hospital bedside, knowing that the other was getting a good rest back at the House, just a short walk away. When Carter was discharged on a 43 degree day, we had an extra night at the House to make sure he was fit and comfortable enough to get home again.

The feeling that remains with us when we reflect on our stay at the House is one of gratitude. Our family had not travelled too far, just a single day’s drive, and we stayed at the House for less than a week. We met families of very sick kids, displaced far from home. Ronald McDonald House provided them with not only accommodation but play, socialisation and even schooling for the patients and their siblings. 

Over the years I have kept an eye out for opportunities to fundraise for the charities that helped us through this time: Ronald McDonald House, HeartKids and Princess Margaret Hospital. In 2018 Up All Night was held for the first time and I decided that I would direct my new hobby of early morning bush walks into training for the overnight walking marathon. Walking 42km, from late at night until early morning, seemed like an insane task, but with lots of hard work and huge support from my family, friends and community I managed to complete the challenge, finishing before sunrise on December 2nd, 2018, and raising over $1800 for Ronald McDonald House in the process. I have been lucky enough to go back and walk it again, in November 2019, March 2021, November 2022, two walks in February and March (in Busselton) 2024 and finally in March 2025, raising over $9500 in total in donations from supportive family and friends. 

Sadly, every year more families need to stay at the House, and so every year, new fundraising is needed to ensure that they can continue to provide the amazing services that they provide. Demand has grown so much that there are 38 families on the wait list each month, and they need to expand the new(ish) Nedlands House. So this year I have decided to again take on the ambitious goal of again raising $1500. If you are in a position to donate to this very worthy cause, then please do so. Preparation will be tough, with long training walks through the heat of summer, but when I know people have donated to my efforts every kilometre becomes a little easier.

Thank you once again for your support and generosity.

Kelly.