Starlight Children’s Foundation (Starlight) is calling for business leaders across Australia to be a part of an a national-first in corporate philanthropy to change the lives of hospitalised kids.
Starlight, in partnership with meetmagic, have launched Meeting for Good, a movement bringing together senior business leaders with technology companies to give happiness to sick kids one meeting at a time, from 1-30 November.
Starlight is specifically calling for C-suite executives from ASX top 300 companies to get involved in the initiative by giving up one 45-minute meeting slot throughout November to give back to Starlight.
For every meeting held, 70 per cent of the meeting fee will be given back to Starlight by meetmagic, a platform founded by Carl Gough that operates as a B2B connection service.
Funds received from each meeting will give 18 sick kids access to vital Starlight’s hospital services for the duration of their admission.
Every minute of every day a child is admitted to a hospital in Australia. While health professionals treat illness, Starlight delivers the fun through its services Captain Starlight and the Starlight Express Rooms to improve sick kids’ resilience, confidence and wellbeing.
In return for giving their time, C-Suite executives will not only feel good about inspiring social change, they’ll gain valuable insights into the latest innovations impacting their business including areas such as infrastructure and cybersecurity. These meetings could also open doors for executives to connect with new technology vendors who can provide strategic insights into digital transformations impacting their industry.
Matt Geraghty, National Partnerships Manager, Starlight, said: “The concept is a simple, yet powerful way for C-Suite executives to both grow their philanthropic impact and solve key business challenges. It’s win/win because executives can raise money for Starlight and improve their business at the same time. I’d urge those interested to get in touch or register directly and together, we can provide happiness to sick kids, one meeting at a time.”
So far 44 corporate philanthropists have signed up to make a difference next month, pledging 133 meetings, including Lucy Liu, President, Airwallex; Katrina Glover, COO, Credit Suisse; Sean O’Donoghue, CFO, Cuscal; Ian Hasslacher, CSCO, Guzman Y Gomez, Bradley Blyth, CTO, Loyalty Pacific and Andrew Matuszczak, CTO/CIO, Wesfarmers.
According to Lucy Liu, AirWallex President, who receives between 20-30 meeting requests a week from would-be suppliers, she had little hesitation in signing up: “I quickly jumped on board. I thought it was a really good idea. We should consider the future legacies that we’re leaving our kids as well as the social impact that we should have. Being a part of this movement if very personal and very exciting to me.