CHE Proximity Unveils ‘Curing Homesickness’, A Fundraising Initiative For Australia’s Children’s Hospitals

In an Australian first, Curing Homesickness will see children’s hospitals from across Australia raise funds together alongside A-list celebrities and brands like Coles, The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand, Assembly Label, Pasta Pantry, NRL, and eBay. Money raised will fund equipment, care and research to get kids home from hospital sooner.

The work of CHE Proximity and directed by the Glue Society’s Pete Baker, Curing Homesickness launches with a movement called “Mum’s Sause”. The film is about a young girl in hospital named Ali, who despite all she’s going through, misses her mum’s pasta “Sause”.

The film follows the story of how her brother spots a handwritten note from Ali who has misspelt the word ‘sauce’. The note becomes a social post, a social post becomes an internet sensation, and “Mum’s Sause” becomes a symbol that unites brands, celebrities and the community to cure homesickness. Ali’s story isn’t real, but homesickness is, as the story represents the hundreds of thousands of kids in Australian hospitals every year.

The film features Australian celebrity cameos from Rose Byrne, Lee Lin Chin, Hamish Blake, G Flip, Mia Freedman and news presenters from Nine and 10. Other celebrities have also joined the mission including Nicole Kidman and NRL sports teams, who have all rallied around the cause to help raise awareness for the movement. Demonstrating the power of social media, it is hoped that life will imitate art with all of Australia helping spread the message about curing homesickness.

Homesickness is the distress or impairment caused by separation from home and severe homesickness in children can lead to social and behavioural problems, anxiety and coping issues, and feelings of helplessness. Studies show that severe homesickness symptoms actually worsen in children the longer they are away from home. The cure for homesickness is home.

Half of hospitalised children suffer from moderate to severe levels of homesickness. By shifting the focus from the medical condition to addressing homesickness (emotional wellbeing), it provides a single-minded approach to fundraising that can unite all hospitals to unlock new donations. No matter the illness, injury and ailment these kids come in with, Homesickness is something they all share. If Australia can rally together and cure it, the hospitals are well on the way to beating any sickness, and getting kids home where they belong.

David Halter, chief strategy officer at CHE Proximity said: “This project started two years ago with a request from Nicola and the board to help increase donations.

“During our hospital visits, we noticed a simple insight: Kids who are in hospital for a particular sickness also have another sickness that Australians are currently unaware of – homesickness.”

Ant White, chief creative officer at CHE Proximity said: “Mum’s Sause is designed to not only be part of culture but inject itself into it. We are purposely blurring the line between reality and fiction. Apart from Ali and her family, who are based on the stories of millions of Aussie families, everything in the film is real – Coles made Mum’s Sause, Assembly Label printed tees, Disney are hosting special screenings, Pasta Pantry are donating parts of their menu, eBay are contributing in a big way too. These are just some of the ways people can become part of the story. Even the influencers, newsreaders and journalists in the film will be posting, sharing and airing content today mirroring the story.

“People want to be part of good stories today. It’s a form of social currency. We wanted to create a movement that allowed people to join in, and make a real difference, not just a campaign that pulls at the heartstrings. But we’re sure it will do that too,” White said.

By raising money to tackle homesickness head on for the first time, the Curing Homesickness initiative will be helping every child in our partner hospitals, ensuring the very best equipment, research and services are available to get them back home sooner.