Michelle Wright – Feel the Magic

Two people in dresses standing in front of a blue snow flake screen smiling

A Magical Night of Gratitude and Generosity

Posted on June 15, 2023 | by Michelle Wright

The 9^th Night of Magic Winter Wonderland Gala dinner transported guests into a realm of enchantment while creating a meaningful impact.

A sincere thanks to everyone there. The atmosphere was incredible and we hope you walked away feeling inspired. We sure did.

Raising money to send kids to Camp Magic

Your company and kindness at this extraordinary event raised over $150k for grieving kids and families to attend camps and programs, providing them with support and a community during their grief journey.

We are still open for donations if you’d like to help us edge closer to our goal of raising $225,000.

If you are inspired to help, please click on the link and donate, or share with others who could also support Feel the Magic – great timing with tax time just around the corner! All donations over $2 are tax-deductible.

This thank you message is from some of our Campers.

Congratulations to our lucky winners:

1st Prize: Luke Loseby

2nd Prize: Matthew Kelly

3rd Prize: Pat Eagleton

4th Prize: Arwel Roberts

From all of us at Feel the Magic, and the many families we support, we say a huge heartfelt thank you to everyone at Night of Magic – our Masters of Ceremonies Dimity Clancy and Hayley Kime, event partners, donors, volunteers and supporters for helping us do what we do to serve our community.

View the photo gallery here.

Thank you to all involved in Night of Magic

Our Winter Wonderland Night of Magic gala dinner would not be possible without the support of our sponsors and partners. Thank you to Shaw and Partners Financial Services, WIM Resources, Alceon, ForteIS, Metway Developments, Metro Solutions, Southern Steel, Alpin, Kelly & Partners Chartered Accountants, Acumen Strata, St George Bank, Doltone House, Batch Brewing Co, Southtrade International, From Sunday and Icons of Sport.

Thank you to those who generously donated the many auction and raffle prizes. From unique experiences to getaways, gift packs, sporting memorabilia, and much more, we had a raft of amazing items and prizes on offer during the evening.

To our amazing and giving volunteers, we are so incredibly grateful for your support at Night of Magic, at every Camp and fundraising event. You continue to inspire us. You all took time out of your day and evening to make our Winter Wonderland possible. A heartfelt thank you. Feel the Magic would not be possible without you.

A special thank you goes to our Night of Magic committee for their time and energy to help make the night a success. Thank you, Adam Blatch, Kristy Thomas, Sean Preece, Kevin Smaller, Felicity Thomas, Harriet Gerrard, Tricia Gerigk and Sarah Askew.

We acknowledge our Mission Partner the Saunders Family Foundation for their continued support for Feel the Magic. From the very beginning, their support has funded numerous Camp Magic programs and fundraising events. Monica and Betty have continued the proud Saunders family legacy of supporting those in need.

We could not be more grateful and appreciative of their continued and impactful support. Thank you for your belief and support in the Feel the Magic vision.

Group of six men in cycling gear on top of a hill

Magic Ride 2023 aims to raise $150k to send 100 kids to Camp Magic

Posted on April 11, 2023 | by Michelle Wright

Magic Ride kicks off at 8.30 am on Thursday 13 April 2023. 33 riders will cycle 500km over four days to raise $150,000 to fund 100 kids to attend Camp Magic, Feel the Magic’s signature three-day camp for grieving kids.

Riders will cross the finish line to the cheers of Campers at Camp Magic, Birrigia Outdoor School, Tharwa on Sunday 16^th April at 1.50 pm.

Raising funds to support grieving kids and families

Adam Blatch, Chief Executive Officer Feel the Magic, who is also part of the dedicated riding crew, is grateful to the 33 riders, their donors and support crew for their commitment and effort.

“1 in 20 kids in Australia will experience the death of a parent before they turn 18, that’s just over 300,000 children or one in every classroom. Based on this, we are all likely to know a family affected by parent loss. In addition to this, kids also experience sibling loss.

Bereaved young people commonly suffer challenges including anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation, which contributes to the nearly one-quarter of young people in Australia who experience some form of mental health challenge. We aim to reduce the mental health challenges associated with childhood grief and provide the education, support and community for kids to live healthily with grief”.

Mike Tomalaris, Australian news and sports presenter has anchored the world’s biggest annual sporting event on Australian television for 26 years and seen the Tour de France coverage develop to be the spectacle it is today.

Mike will join the riding crew on day four, Sunday 16^th April cycling 67km to arrive at the finish line at Camp Magic, Birrigai Outdoor School, Tharwa ACT.

Magic Ride – A Vital Community Fundraiser

From its beginnings in 2020, Magic Ride has become a vital community fundraiser to help fund camps, research and resources for grieving kids and families. All Feel the Magic camps, programs and resources are free of charge (and some camps are virtual) so there is no barrier to families seeking the support they need.

Since 2020, the generosity of Magic Riders, sponsors and supporters has enabled Feel the Magic to:

Raise almost $282k so far
Fund 4 Camp Magic camps
Educate 188 children through the Camp Magic experience

Read more about Magic Ride 2023 and Feel the Magic in the press release.

The 1-in-20 Challenge is back!

Posted on September 13, 2022 | by Michelle Wright

We’re inviting you to join our 1-in-20 Challenge this October – its just the excuse to take a break, get active in the outdoors and support others in our community.

What Is The 1-in-20 Challenge?

The challenge is to walk or run 120km this October to help fund Camps for the 1 in 20 kids left behind after the devastating loss of their Mum or Dad.

In Australia, just over 300,000 children will lose a parent before they reach the age of 18. To put this into perspective, there is most likely a child grieving the loss of a parent in every class at school.

Based on these statistics, we all know a family struggling with grief. Those families deserve support and we’re here to help.

In fact, we can all help!

Walk or run 120km for grieving kid and families, or if 120km is more than challenge for you, start by aiming to raise just $1 for every km you walk or run, or set yourself a $120 goal… but the sky is the limit!

Last year some teams and individuals raised over $3,500!

Together, we can fund Camps, research and resources to help grieving kids heal – we’ll also give our own mental and physical health a boost by getting outside and getting active.

3 Easy Steps To Sign Up

Signing up is easy.

Set up your profile as an individual or as a team and invite others to participate.
Tell your colleagues, family and friends and ask for donations
Feel good knowing every step your take will change the lives of grieving kids.

Plus, take these three easy steps to sign up before 1 October for your chance to win $500 worth of Havok Athletic activewear!

Sign up now! And the next time you feel like skipping that run or walk, you can push through, knowing you’re changing lives with every step.

How to support grieving kids after Father’s Day

Posted on September 5, 2022 | by Michelle Wright

Thank you to our incredible community for supporting our #LetsTalkFathersDay movement.

Many of you have valued reading our guide ‘5 Ways to Talk to a Grieving Child on Father’s Day’. We hope this helps our wider community support grieving kids through milestones and anniversaries like Father’s Day and encourages more of us to show them we are ready to listen and talk about their Dad too.

We make a special mention and thank you to the Feel the Magic kids who openly and proudly shared their memories and special moments. You are truly inspiring.

We also thank our Ambassador, Supercars Championship Driver, Scott Pye for sharing his memories of his Dad, Robert.

If you missed Channel Nine news, tap the link here to view the segment on our amazing Camper Darcy and his mum Allison as they celebrated Darcy’s Dad Gavin on Father’s Day.

We also extend our gratitude to another Feel the Magic Ambassador, Deborah Knight for welcoming our CEO Adam Blatch on her afternoon radio show.

Adam told Deborah how Father’s Day is a difficult day for many families and, for a lot of us, it is hard to know what to say or how to support grieving kids. Listen to the interview here.

Grieving kids deserve our support

Here’s how to make sure grieving kids keep feeling supported:

Reach out to a grieving family after Father’s Day to check in and see how they are feeling after the day.
Keep spreading the word about our camps, resources, and community – so that by next Father’s Day, even more kids have a place where they belong.
Keep grieving kids in mind during anniversaries and events. A text, chat and a friendly ear could help them through the tough times

You may also find this article ‘Supporting Children & Teens Through Grief Anniversaries and Significant Events’ useful to help support a grieving child.

Plus, our Grief Resource Hub has guides, activities, books, videos and TED talks you may find helpful. And we regularly share blogs with our followers. You can keep up to date with our latest blogs and news articles here.

Challenges That Change Us

Posted on August 11, 2022 | by Michelle Wright

In a recent ‘Challenges That Change Us’ podcast, guests and Feel the Magic founders James and Kristy Thomas, shared their experiences of loss, advice for dealing with grief, how grief affected them in different ways and using the analogy of seasons for understanding grief.

“Grief has no time frame.”

“Just be there. You don’t have to do anything, it’s not about fixing them, it’s just about being there“

“Reach out to Feel the Magic…join community groups…connect with others who know exactly what you are going through and you’ll find peace knowing that other people understand what you are going through.”

Listen to James’ advice for dealing with grief in this video snippet.

Kristy shared the analogy of the seasons in understanding grief in this podcast. During Talk Time sessions at our Feel the Magic Camps the analogy of the seasons helps grieving kids unpack their grief. The journey and time taken through the seasons is different for everyone. Children are given an opportunity to explore their thoughts and emotions through characteristics of the seasons within their grief.

Listen to Kristy talk about the analogy of seasons in this audiogram.

Listen to the full podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or iHeartRADIO

James and Kristy founded Feel the Magic in 2013, driven by their personal experiences with grief and a mission to make sure no Australian child goes through grief alone. We proudly continue this mission and have helped more than 1,200 kids and their families.

Darren McMullen Feel the Magic Ambassador

Ambassador and celebrity boardroom challenger

Posted on June 3, 2022 | by Michelle Wright

If you’ve been following us on socials, you would have seen our newest Ambassador Darren McMullen challenging it out on Celebrity Apprentice Australia. Darren is not only a proud Ambassador but selected Feel the Magic has his charity of choice for the battle in the boardroom.

As a proud mental health advocate, Darren noticed the link between mental health issues, suicide, and grief.

Darren shared: “I’ve lost friends through suicide and mental health issues. And when I looked back, I realised – a lot of these friends had lost a parent when they were young.”

That’s why he’s so passionate about Feel the Magic and our programs. He believes that through early intervention and grief education, we can help kids and families learn to live with their grief in healthy ways and avoid serious mental health issues later on in life.

That’s why he has been playing the boardroom game in Celebrity Apprentice, and he’s doing just fine!

Record breaking win

On the very first premiere episode for this season, Darren, Benji Marshall (thank you for your huge contribution, Benji), and teammates not only won the opening challenge, but raised the most amount money ever on Celebrity Apprentice. This was an amazing and massive effort and will help so many more grieving children and their families. This win means Feel the Magic can offer them more free camps, resources, and support.

Giving back and second chances

Darren generously gave Turia Pitt back her hard-earned winnings on episode two. From Feel the Magic CEO Adam Blatch “We are so proud to have Darren McMullen as Ambassador at Feel the Magic. The generosity in not accepting Turia Pitt winnings for her charity Interplast Australia & New Zealand on Celebrity Apprentice Australia reflects the values that Feel the Magic holds. The amazing contribution by Darren and his team will support many more grieving children and families around Australia. Darren is helping us get the word out about the 1 in 20 Australian kids grieving the death of a parent and the support we can offer them. We are very grateful for all his time and energy”.

Then on episode eight, Darren had a second chance at the winnings as Project Manager. But he and Team Innovate were unlucky to be outdone by their opponents.

Above all these efforts, Darren has been proudly promoting Feel the Magic – on television, social media, and radio – even during a Nova 969 rap battle against Wippa. Our Instagram polling tells us that Darren out did Wippa hands down!

Darren has half the season to go, and we can’t wait to watch the battles ahead.

Celebrity Apprentice style golf day

Outside of the boardroom, Darren and Benji will be joining Feel the Magic for this year’s annual charity golf day at Concord Golf course.

Would you like to play a round of golf, meet our Ambassador, raise money, and help more grieving kids heal? Then come along and experience a Celebrity Apprentice style Golf Day.

Play as a team, buy individual player tickets, or bring along extra guests to a fantastic lunch. Click through for more information.

We can’t thank Darren enough for all his efforts, commitment, and shout outs. The more we can spread the word about Feel the Magic, the more grieving kids we can help heal. No Australian child should feel alone in their grief.