Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre delivers successful Good Friday Appeal event

The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) was attended by 102,500 Victorians in support of the Good Friday Appeal which received record-breaking donations and raised over $23 million to provide life-saving care for children. 

The fun filled Kids Day Out returned to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, supported by City of Melbourne on Good Friday during which children enjoyed a range of activities, including carnival rides, Classic Cars, and the Woolworths Fresh Food Fair. The popular Teddy Bear Hospital was also back.

The Good Friday Appeal is the The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne biggest fundraiser which helps to provide groundbreaking research, state-of-the-art equipment, family centred care-programs and so much more for Victoria's community.

MCEC Chief Executive, Natalie O’Brien said the Good Friday Appeal is a wonderful demonstration of MCEC’s commitment to supporting the local community and shared “this was my first Good Friday Appeal, I was so pleased to be in amongst all the activity. It is so heart-warming to see the community gather and raise much-needed funds for such an important cause. You can see how much joy this event brings to the local community and the MCEC team. 

“The Good Friday Appeal is a major operation, taking over the entire venue. I am incredibly proud of the entire MCEC team for seamlessly delivering such a large-scale event and I was pleased to lend a hand myself in the event lead-up. Every single person involved has made a significant contribution to raising life-changing funds for sick kids.”

MCEC’s chefs created an interactive Ice Cream-o-Rama for the Kids Day Out, serving 1,500 house-made ice creams for visitors that raised $5000 for the Appeal.

Executive Director of Good Friday Appeal, Rebecca Cowan adds “Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre has been an incredible partner of the Good Friday Appeal for almost a decade, donating countless hours and millions of dollars in waived venue hire, technology, resources, and catering.

“MCEC provides the invaluable space to house Kids Day Out with over 100,000 visitors, the phone room, money counting room and the all-important behind-the-scenes operations for the Good Friday Appeal.  This combined with their team's expertise, flexibility and professionalism makes them an exceptional host and partner.  We are incredibly grateful for their ongoing commitment to the Good Friday Appeal to ensure sick kids and their families at The Royal Children's Hospital receive the best medical care.”