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 South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

n children. The Foundation was established by former

Adelaide Football Club The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia that was founded in 1990. The Crows have fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 199 ...

players Tony McGuinness and

Chris McDermott Christopher Stephen McDermott OAM (born 4 November 1963) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the Glenelg Football Club and North Adelaide ...

Projects

Oncology treatment for children in South Australia is chiefly undertaken at the

Women's and Children's Hospital The Women's and Children's Hospital (WCH) is a hospital dedicated to the care of women and children in Adelaide, South Australia. It was established in March 1989, when the Queen Victoria Hospital and Adelaide Children's Hospital were amalgamate ...

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct (Australia), precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. Laid out in a grid plan in three section ...

. 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 Clinic * Establishment of the Brookman Cancer Ward * Extensions to the Dialysis Unit * Improvements to the

Adolescent Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated w ...

Ward * Purchase of an

x-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

machine and refurbishment of the

Medical Imaging Medical imaging is the technique and process of imaging the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues (physiology). Medical imaging seeks to revea ...

rooms * Upgrading of the holding bay in

Paediatric Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Prev ...

Theatres * Upgrading the

Endocrinology Endocrinology (from ''endocrine system, endocrine'' + ''wikt:-logy#Suffix, -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the ...

and

Diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

Centre * The purchase of a HPLC machine for the

Gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- "belly", -énteron "intestine", and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract, sometime ...

Unit * The purchase of the

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...

scanner *

Endoscopic An endoscopy is a procedure used in medicine to look inside the body. The endoscopy procedure uses an endoscope to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Unlike many other medical imaging techniques, endoscopes are insert ...

Theatre Suite Redevelopment

Fundraising activities

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 Dow

Slow Down is an annual Australian rules football match held at the end of the regular season, with teams drawn mostly from ex- Australian Football League, AFL and

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

players. The players competing are loosely aligned to the two

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

-based AFL sides:

Adelaide Crows The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia that was founded in 1990. The Crows have fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 199 ...

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 Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

events, special event Luncheons, and sales from specialist items such as modified versions of the popular board games,

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

and

Trivial Pursuit ''Trivial Pursuit'' is a board game in which winning is determined by a player's ability to answer trivia and popular culture questions. Players move their pieces around a board, the squares they land on determining the subject of a question the ...

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 X5 The BMW X5 is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by BMW. The X5 made its debut in 1999 as the E53 model. It was BMW's first SUV. At launch, it featured all-wheel drive and was available with either a manual or automatic gearbox. The secon ...

and Mercedes CLK 280.

References

{{reflist

External links

Little Heroes Foundation Website

Children's charities based in Australia Foundations based in Australia Health charities in Australia Organisations based in Adelaide Medical and health organisations based in South Australia Medical and health foundations