Article from 2019/2020 Impact of Giving Annual Report

When Geoff Kliger was approached by RCH1000’s founding Chairman, Efrem Goldhammer OAM, and asked to be involved in a unique donor group, he jumped at the chance.

Efrem’s idea was simple but powerful; members commit to donating a minimum of $1,000 annually to support lifesaving research at the RCH.

“I seized the opportunity to be involved when Efrem offered it, because I believe that children are our community’s most vulnerable members and therefore we all have a duty to protect and nurture them,” said Geoff.

“In RCH1000 I saw an opportunity to really make a difference to a great number of children through paediatric medical research.”

Geoff has been part of RCH1000’s committee and donor group since its inception in 2001 and has helped support vital research projects in areas such as cardiology, neurology and pathology.

What Geoff, who has been a commercial lawyer for almost 50 years, didn’t bank on was the lessons he would learn from being involved and the people he would meet as a result.

“Through my involvement in RCH1000 I have met and come to know some amazing people including clinicians, researchers, administrators and RCH1000 members. They have all enhanced me in ways I did not count on when I first became involved,” said Geoff.

“I have also learnt many things, including the fact that medically speaking, children are not just smaller versions of adults, but they have special and sometimes not well understood medical needs and hence the need for paediatric medical research.”