2022 will bring new innovations with Virtual Santa magically appearing to the children at the first regional Christmas Wish held at the Bairnsdale RSL next Wednesday, November 30, from 9am to 3pm.
This year Gippsland is hosting Australia's first Regional Christmas Wish and it will be an exciting development. In 2016 The Heart Project was born, lead by Karen Alsop who brought together a small group of photographers willing to work hard under her guidance to bring magic to families who had children with illness or disabilities.
Karen had met and photographed Tahlia earlier that year, and was able to set her free from her wheelchair in this magical scene.
That year the Heart Project started, the group who formed under Karen's guidance were able to learn the techniques and apply them to more families who needed some joy.
This led Karen to realise that at Christmas time there were families undergoing medical treatments in hospital and couldn't enjoy the celebrations the way people in the wider community could. The Christmas Wish team from the Heart Project was born, and Monash Children's Hospital was the first to welcome the tiny team of six, including the Aussie Santa (who has continued volunteering every year since).
In 2017 Christmas Wish went Australia wide and from 2018, worldwide to hospitals in the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.
In 2022 the team will be bringing joy to families around the world again. The Gippsland Christmas Wish at Bairnsdale on November 30 will be ready to bring smiles to the faces of everyone involved.
In the past the Christmas Wish has only been conducted in major children's hospitals in cities, however the regions are in just as much need for this charity. A team consisting of local photographers from across Gippsland, team members from Melbourne and new volunteers will be holding the inaugural Regional Christmas Wish in Bairnsdale. There are seven teams around the world including the USA and the requests to join as volunteers is climbing rapidly. With the Christmas Wish in East Gippsland setting the pace, teams will be set up in smaller regional areas next year to cover the needs of those in country areas.
Made up of photographers, the team coordinates what looks to be a simple and fun Christmas photo in front of a green screen using a few props and lots of laughter; then the Photoshop magic happens.