The man, who wished to remain anonymous, died during the sale process, but outlined before his passing and in his will that the proceeds raised must go to the hospital.
Shepparton Real Estate managing director Ryan O’Connor and sales executive Hollie Wood managed the sale and said they were inspired by the act of generosity to donate their $11,000 commission to a cause assisting children.
“We didn’t even have to say anything. We just looked at each other and we knew,” Ms Wood said.
“Both Hollie and I have had family and friends that have certainly been supported by the Royal Children’s Hospital,” Mr O’Connor said.
“We thought it was a really heartfelt sort of situation and decided that we wanted to support the Royal Children’s as well and I guess, we also wanted it to be somewhat of a local initiative.”
So Ms Wood and Mr O’Connor decided to donate their commission to HeartKids, an organisation that supports people impacted by childhood heart disease and whose work they had experienced.
Katherine Byrne and her husband Elliott and their family have also felt the helping hand of HeartKids.
The couple lost first son, Elijah, to PPA2, a rare condition that causes heart failure.
“HeartKids was our main support organisation at the hospital and we’d never heard of that condition before,” Ms Byrne said.
“So they gave us a lot of educational support and a lot of counselling and support, along with other families with children who were sick in hospital with heart conditions at the time.”
She said after experiencing HeartKids’ support first-hand, the family now helps raise money to fund its work.
“Since we’d experienced that, each year we do a fundraiser, whether it be the Two Feet and a Heartbeat walk for HeartKids or their superhero boss day, each year, and raise money just to keep his memory alive and to raise awareness.”
HeartKids’ state manager for Victoria and Tasmania Norm Hutton said heart issues for kids were more common than some people might realise.
“Childhood heart disease, or CHD as it’s known, affects eight babies born every day in Australia, and unfortunately we lose four every week,” he said.
“There’s no known cause of it and no known cure so when parents with heart children reach out to HeartKids, that relationship lasts for as long as they want.
“It’s a lifelong relationship in many ways.”
HeartKids’ next major fundraiser is Hero4HeartKids on June 17, the birthday of Superman’s alter ego Clarke Kent.
“It’s an opportunity for workplaces to get on board, sign up and become a hero for a day,’’ Mr Hutton said.
“As I said, the little ones are heroes every day.’’
For more information on Hero4HeartKids, visit https://www.hero4heartkids.org.au/
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