Charlie’s Fight: Croydon Park’s Young Hero Battling Cancer
Meet Charlie: Croydon Park’s Brave Little Fighter
For one family in Sydney’s Inner West, the journey through childhood cancer has been a heart-wrenching battle of courage, strength, and love. At just 3.5 years old, little Charlie from Croydon Park has become a symbol of hope for many, and his story has now taken centre stage at one of Sydney’s biggest motorsport events.
💕 A local hero shines at the V8 SuperUtes Sydney
At this year’s V8 SuperUtes Sprint Cup in Sydney – the Thrifty Sydney 500 – racing car driver and Kids with Cancer Foundation Ambassador, Jimmy Vernon, proudly wore Charlie’s photo on his helmet, dedicating the race to kids battling cancer. Charlie and his family were special guests at the event, enjoying an exclusive behind-the-scenes experience at Sydney Motorsport Park that included meeting drivers, exploring the pit, and even sitting in Jimmy’s race car.
Jimmy’s support for children like Charlie stems from his five-year partnership with the Kids with Cancer Foundation, where he dedicates each race to a child diagnosed with cancer, helping to bring joy and relief to affected families.
💕 Charlie’s brave fight against leukaemia
In February 2024, then just 2.5 years old, Charlie’s world changed overnight when he was rushed to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. The news devastated his parents, Danielle and her husband, as they faced the unimaginable while also preparing to welcome a second child into their family.
“We were heartbroken and overwhelmed,” shares Danielle. “I was six weeks pregnant, but we knew we had to stay strong for Charlie.”
Charlie endured a grueling seven months of intensive chemotherapy, countless hospital stays, and life-threatening complications. Yet, despite the challenges, Charlie has shown remarkable resilience, even welcoming his baby brother Billy during this tough journey. Danielle says, “We are so proud of Charlie; his smile has been our light through all of this.”
Charlie is now in maintenance therapy and is expected to complete his treatment by February 2026. If all goes well, he will then be declared cancer-free.
💕 How you can help
Charlie’s story is just one of many that highlight the importance of organizations like Kids with Cancer Foundation. They provide invaluable support to families through programs such as financial aid, Care Packs, and funding for hospital infrastructure and research. In December 2024, Jimmy Vernon helped deliver the Foundation’s 20,000th Care Pack, spreading smiles to children undergoing treatment.
For just $20, you can donate a Care Pack to bring comfort and joy to kids like Charlie. These packs include snacks, activity books, and small toys to make long hospital stays a little more bearable. Learn more about how you can help at Kids with Cancer Foundation.
💕 About Kids with Cancer Foundation
Every year around 1200 children and adolescents age 0 to 18 are diagnosed with cancer, setting them and their family on a roller coaster of intensive treatments and lots of time in hospital. Care Packs – filled with snacks, activity books and small toys – help to make hospital stays and long treatment sessions more manageable and less daunting by providing comfort, distraction and the knowledge that someone cares.
Kids with Cancer Foundation introduced the delivery of Care Packs in 2020, in the midst of the COVID19 outbreak and lockdowns. Prior to this, the Foundation was providing morning teas, small entertainment toys and activity books through in-person programs at children’s hospitals, but with the COVID outbreak and visitation to hospitals limited, Kids with Cancer Foundation started the Care Pack program – with weekly deliveries of Care Packs going to children’s hospitals all around Australia.
These Care Packs are packed by volunteers who register and participate in a day of packing at Kids with Cancer Foundation’s offices in Castle Hill. Community groups, corporate team building, sports clubs, and school holiday groups as well as Kids with Cancer Foundation’s Ambassadors like Jimmy Vernon, are among the many volunteers who help to pack tens of thousands of Care Packs. Some of the items in the Care Packs are donated by businesses.
Giving the gift of a Care Pack brings hope, fun and joy to children undertaking cancer treatment, and these Care Packs can be donated for just $20, to make a donation click here.
Kids with Cancer Foundation is committed to making today easier for kids with cancer and their families through providing direct financial support to families, Care Packs, Wigs4Kids, plus funding critical hospital salaries and infrastructure, cancer research and more, visit www.kidswithcancer.org.au
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