Beneficiaries

Grace has commenced kindergarten and appropriate equipment was needed to ensure she could access the kindergarten program and be safely positioned throughout the day. Grace requires maximum support for all activities. A Bingo supportive seat attaches to a hi/low frame which can be moved around the classroom and height adjusted to suit all activities. It […]

This is Klaudia during therapy sessions in the Royal Children’s Hospital outdoor space. Klaudia has Cerebral Palsy and had recent orthopaedic surgery and inpatient rehabilitation. After many months she remained below the usual level of function and in need of further rehabilitation at the time of discharge. Unfortunately, Klaudia’s family cannot access public funded outpatient […]

Bright, smiley 3 year old Cove is learning to stand and walk again. After suffering a severe brain injury during an accident, Cove lost ability to sit, crawl, stand or walk on his own. It has since been very encouraging to see Cove moving his legs and attempting to step forward when supported. A great […]

Hudson is a cute, one year old boy. In December 2019, Hudson was admitted to RCH, with a diagnosis of Transverse Myelitis, which resulted in spinal injury, paralysis of legs and bowel and bladder dysfunction. The Royal Children’s Hospital contacted MAD for financial assistance, so Hudson could be discharged from hospital. Getting Hudson back home […]

Siris is an 8 year old boy with cerebral palsy, visual impairment and intellectual disability. Siris is the eldest of 4 children, in a family undergoing difficult circumstances & recent relocation. Their situation saw Siris without equipment and no means for purchase and ineligible for NDIS due to residency status. Some repurposed equipment was accessed […]

Lily is a 15 year old girl, adopted from Korea by her parents. Lily has autism and an intellectual disability and is non-verbal. Lily unfortunately developed a chronic kidney condition which is treatment resistant. This means treatment every two weeks for a full day of IV infusion, where she must be securely seated and not move around. Lily finds this […]

Jaxon was referred to the MAD Foundation by a social worker at Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne.  A new, paraplegic, post a severe and sudden neurological condition. This spinal cord injury resulted in complete lower limb paralysis, bowel and bladder dysfunction and sensory deficit. Prior to this Jaxon was an active little boy, in his first […]

Ke’Dy is a 3 year old little girl who has been diagnosed with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy. This disorder affects coordination and control of motor function and thus her ability to stand and walk. Without equipment, she is only able to crawl to move around the home on the floor. Ke’Dy had a walker on […]

Jack is 16 months old, full of laughter and smiles! An engaging little boy that enjoys interacting with his family and is eager to play. He is confident in his decisions and his blonde hair and blue eyes melt hearts everywhere. Jack was diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy at 5 months old. From this moment, […]

I genuinely wanted to thank MAD Foundation for their enormous help by funding for Aarohi’s equipment. Because of your funding, Aarohi was able to get a Standing Frame, a fully customised Stroller with indoor and outdoor bases and a shower chair. This equipment was very expensive and absolutely out of our budget. We have been […]

In May 2019 the Kustom Kruisers classic car and bike club raised over $4000 to support Liana, a sweet four year old girl, with a rare genetic condition (beta-propeller protein-associated neurodegeneration) that presents similarly to cerebral palsy with processing and communication challenges. Today at the Royal Children’s Hospital, the Kustom Kruisers team joined the MAD […]

Sophie is a five year old girl who was born with Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, an intellectual disability leaving her non-verbal, hyperactive and unable to navigate her environment rationally or physically. The MAD Foundation funded a specialised stroller so that Sophie can safely be out in the community with her family. One of Sophie’s first adventures in […]

Laura is a sweet 2 year old girl who loves music, Peppa Pig and Bananas in Pyjamas. Laura loves it when other people engage with her, particularly when they are speaking or singing to her. Laura has a Global Developmental Delay; a neurological condition that results in severe developmental delays and difficult to control seizures and epilepsy. She […]

To MAD Foundation, I am writing to describe my sincerest gratitude at the news of MAD funding Dylan’s Raz-CAT shower commode. His mother, Jo, and I are beyond excited to have received this funding for the most wonderful young man who struggles through showering and toileting every day. With your help his and Jo’s lives […]

Jahleel is a beautiful 2 yr old boy, whom we had the pleasure of meeting at our recent 2018 RCH MAD Foundation Morning Tea. Jahleel has a rare metabolic condition (AADC) that has left him with quadriplegia and other serious medical conditions. We learnt from Jahleel’s mother, how his new P Pod chair, funded by […]

Vivian is a delightful young girl, with an undiagnosed medical condition. She recently received a new Bingo supportive stroller through government funding. The MAD Foundation was approached to provide funding for a Hi-low cobra base that allows this stroller to be used inside her home. It means Vivian can sit in an upright position with […]

Jovean is a 7 year old boy with Cerebral Palsy (GMFCS IV) Jovean, his parents and brother migrated to Australia this year, under a Global Humanitarian Visa. The family left Iraq in 2014 and were living in Jordan until migrating to Australia as refugees. The family arrived in January 2018 and only speak Arabic.  Both parents […]

Gitty is a gorgeous four year old girl with Autism, severe global developmental delay and epilepsy. She has no verbal communication and has just recently learnt to walk. Gitty is still able to attend a special needs kinder and a mainstream kinder, which she enjoys. Gitty had outgrown her car seat. Due to Gitty’s physical […]

Grace is a 3 year old twin, who lives with 3 sisters and her parents in regional Victoria. Grace has a diagnosis of lissencephaly, a rare gene linked brain malformation and a life shortening condition. The family has had many expenses with regular trips to Melbourne for Grace’s medical treatments, a modified car, home modifications […]

Turrie is a 10 year-old girl who smiles a lot and loves going on outings with her twin sister. She also has severe cerebral palsy, dystonia (movement disorder), cortical visual impairment and epilepsy. Turrie relies on her mother as primary carer for all of her self-care, positioning, and mobility needs. 2017 was a very tough year for […]

Nelle is a happy 4 year old girl who enjoys time with her older sister, watching her dog and giggling at push and pull toys. Nelle has a diagnosis of Cohen Syndrome, an extremely rare inherited genetic disorder. Children with Cohen syndrome have Global Developmental Delay, cognitive delay, small head size and weak muscle tone. […]

Skyla is an eight year old girl with a diagnosis of severe quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Due to her cerebral palsy, Skyla has no ability to move or reposition her body or limbs and is dependent on a wheelchair for all mobility. She has extremely limited ability to communicate her needs and she is dependent on […]

Kaspar is a 12 year old boy with complex medical and disability needs, that include cerebral palsy, dystonia (involuntary muscle control) epilepsy and cortical visual impairment. Kaspar requires a wheelchair for all mobility and a fully supported standing frame to allow him the opportunities to engage in school and social situations with others. Kaspar’s current […]

Mia is a 15 mth old girl, the youngest of four children.  She has a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, microcephaly, epilepsy and vision impairment. From a postural and developmental perspective Mia has complex needs. She requires maximum support around her hips, trunk and head for all positions and uses a specialised seating system to help […]

Oliver is a 14 year-old young man with a cervical spinal cord injury, resulting in paraplegia, lung disease, neurogenic bowel and bladder, and scoliosis, under the care of many medical teams at RCH. Despite his many health challenges, Oliver is a resilient young man, who makes the most of every opportunity that comes his way. […]

Caleb is 14 years old and has complex medical and disability needs including: chronic lung disease, undiagnosed neurodegenerative disease, global developmental delay, metabolic disorder, precocious puberty, sleep apnoea and a cortical vision impairment. He is nonverbal, fully wheelchair and hoist dependent for mobility, has limited fine motor function and requires full assistance with [...]

  Aizan is a two year old boy born with severe X linked myotubular myopathy, that results in severe muscle weakness that required a tracheostomy for ventilation and he relies on PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) tube feeding. Aizan’s complex medical needs require 24 hour care and are physically and emotionally demanding for his mum and […]

The MAD Foundation was approached by a Special Development School in Geelong seeking funding for a student in urgent need of wheelchair hire. Jordan is a 12 year old boy, with cerebral palsy, requiring a highly supportive wheelchair, for his mobility around home, school and in the community. Jordan also travels in his wheelchair to […]

Ace is a 6 yr old boy, originally diagnosed around 9 months with a very rare genetic disorder called Aicardi Goutieres Syndrome (AGS). Ace is one of only 120 in the world to have this degenerative neurological disorder. It affects Ace’s movement and intellect by calcifying parts of his brain. He has a visual impairment […]

Sunay is a boy with special medical needs, who was first introduced to MAD in 2015. Sunay was scheduled to have essential orthodontic treatment paid for by the MAD Foundation. Sadly, this treatment was cancelled due to a life saving lung transplant operation. We are thrilled to report that Sunay is now fully recovered from […]

Mitchell is a 2 year old boy, born prematurely with Cerebal Palsy and complex medical needs. In his short life, Mitchell has already undergone several surgeries including brain surgery. Mitchell requires support to complete all his daily living including mobility, communication, self care and play. The amount of support he requires is far greater than […]

The MAD Foundation funded a power wheelchair for Justin, a 16 year old boy who underwent four limb amputations (both legs and both arms) secondary to severe sepsis in the setting of cyclic neutropenia in 2015. Justin has undergone significant rehabilitation to try to learn to walk again using prosthetic legs, bionic arms and crutches […]

Maggie is a 6 year old girl with a diagnosis of Coffin-Siris Syndrome, which affects several systems in her body and has resulted in significant intellectual disability and behavioural problems.  Maggie is managed by many different medical teams and has had multiple admissions to both The Royal Children’s Hospital and the Monash Children’s Hospital due […]

Sebastian is a 14 year old boy who has a diagnosis of Autism with a very unstable emotional state. He attends a Special Development School where his mood is closely monitored and many strategies are put in place to assist Sebastian to manage his emotions and return to a calm state when anxiety levels rise. […]

  Poppy is a 5 year old girl in 4 year old kinder, born with a severe form of Spina Bifida. Poppy has lower limb paralysis that prevents her from walking. She uses a wheelchair for mobility and is unable to assist in transfers and requires maximal assistance. At kinder, Poppy currently uses a standard […]

Here at MAD Foundation HQ we receive many heart warming thank-you’s from parents of children we have supported. Every situation is unique. The amount can be large ($10,000+) or small ($500), but the outcome is always the same – it Makes A Difference. This letter from Archie’s mum is priceless – every kid deserves a […]

Hello I am Sam’s mum, Cathy, and we were fortunate to receive some very generous funding for a ramp from the Making A Difference Foundation. The ramp is now finished and almost fully painted and oiled and I have attached some pictures. I would be grateful if you could pass them on to the volunteers […]

James* is a seven year old boy with severe cerebral palsy. He is fed by gastrostomy tube. He has had considerable medical issues in the past 12 months, including crush vertebral fractures which have caused a great deal of pain. In addition, his vision is deteriorating. He requires a communication device that uses auditory scanning […]

MAD Foundation learnt of Jasmin in 2012 through a letter we received from her occupational therapist. Jasmin is a delightful 7 year-old girl who has severe cerebral palsy. She lives at home with her parents and older brother. Last year Jasmin had a considerable growth spurt. To you and me that means buying new clothes […]

MAD funded the $8,600 required for a Melbourne family to send their nearly 8 year old son Michael*, with severe neurodisability, to an excellent advisory and behaviour management service for a month.  This service is called Mansfield Autism Service, and it will help Michael with toilet training and behaviour management strategies which will in turn […]

MAD recently funded the modifications to Reggie-Lee’s wheelchair allowing her much better mobility. Reggie-Lee is a much more comfortable and happier student in her bigger and better fitting manual wheelchair. She is also zooming around school in her new power wheelchair which offers her a level of independence that she has never experienced before” says […]

To the Make a Difference Foundation, We are writing to you to express how grateful we are for your kindness. Your generosity has enabled our daughter Elke to get specific help for her areas of difficulty. Our daughter Elke was born in June 2010. She contracted enteroviral encephalitis at the age of 4 weeks and […]

To The Team at The MAD Foundation I’m not sure if I ever sent you photos of Ellie in her new amazing bed…!!  Ellie had a rough year last year with seizures and being unwell generally. So sorry if I hadn’t sent these yet. Huge thanks to everyone at the MAD Foundation for their support in funding […]

Hi MAD Foundation You kindly funded a bicycle from Body Cycles for my son, Archie, which we received in December 2015.  Given it was so close to Christmas I decided to make it a Christmas present for Archie.  So with Anthea’s help (Archie’s physio from his school) we kept the bike hidden from Archie. I […]