On Saturday 25 July, LOT.100 came alive for the 2026 Collab for a Cause Christmas in July dinner, a night of great food, generosity and genuine community spirit, all in support of the Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Guests embraced the festive 90s theme with enthusiasm, bringing the energy from the very first moment. Guided by MC Tom Rehn from 9News and co-host Mandy Hall, the night flowed seamlessly, from pre-dinner drinks and canapés to live entertainment, an exceptional five-course tasting menu, and a live auction and wine wall that kept the generosity flowing all evening. 

Five celebrated chefs joined LOT.100’s own Chef and General Manager, Shannon Fleming, and Head Chef, Jack Winfield to bring the menu to life:

• Mark Best — Executive Chef, Infinity by Mark Best, Sydney Tower
• Quentin Whittle — Chef/Owner of Herringbone, Trak & Crafers Pizza Bar
• Laura Sharrad — Author, Food Creator, Owner of Nido & Fugazzi
• Max Sharrad — Chef/Owner of Nido & Fugazzi
• Jimmy Toone — Chef/Owner of Fall From Grace

Together, they created a dining experience guests won’t soon forget in service of something far greater than a great meal. 

The inspiration behind the event

Collab for a Cause has called LOT.100 home since 2019, but beyond the fundraising and community spirit, each event is driven by a deeply personal story.

For founder Shannon Fleming, the cause is closely tied to his family’s experience with the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

“Our twins were born premature in August of 2018 and spent nearly 100 days in NICU,” Shannon shared. “Tragically, one of our daughters passed away 28 days following heart surgery. Whilst we experienced the worst loss possible, we also received amazing care from the staff and doctors of the NICU and WCH. It’s a place that holds so many memories, not just for our family, but for many others.”

That gratitude has become the driving force behind Collab for a Cause. On Saturday night, Shannon’s commitment, along with the generosity of the LOT.100 community, was felt throughout the room, as guests came together to support families navigating their own hospital journeys.

Celebrating an extraordinary community

Together, we raised almost $70,000 for the babies, children and families who rely on the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Every dollar raised will help fund vital care, groundbreaking research and wellbeing programs, ensuring support is available when it matters most.

To our guest chefs, sponsors, local producers, volunteers and every guest who attended, gave generously and championed this cause, thank you. Your support has made this incredible result possible.

What began as a vision has grown into something far greater: a community united by kindness, collaboration and a shared belief that together, we can change lives. 

This is what true collaboration and community looks like.

For Madeleine, the journey to motherhood was anything but certain.

Diagnosed with chronic kidney disease at just 13 years old, she spent her teenage years balancing boarding school, assignments, friendships and regular appointments with the renal team at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Growing up in regional South Australia meant much of her care happened from a distance, with frequent travel becoming part of everyday life.

After around two years of managing her condition, Madeleine received a kidney transplant donated by her father. It was life-changing, but it also meant weeks in hospital recovery and time away from school during an already challenging stage of life.

“It was a lot to navigate at such a young age,” she said.

As she got older, Madeleine always knew that starting a family could be complicated.

“I always knew having children was going to be difficult,” she said.

A pregnancy filled with hope and uncertainty

When she later fell pregnant, Madeleine returned to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, supported by the Maternal Fetal Medicine team working closely alongside her local GP in Port Lincoln.

Despite careful planning and expert medical care, Madeleine’s pregnancy became increasingly complicated. She developed high blood pressure and was subsequently diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. At just over 30 weeks pregnant, she underwent an emergency caesarean section. Although Poppy arrived much sooner than expected, Madeleine and her husband, Jarred, were overjoyed to welcome their beautiful daughter into the world.

Poppy required specialised care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where she spent her first weeks of life closely monitored.

At the same time, Madeleine faced her own serious recovery challenges. “It was difficult for them to control my blood pressure, and my kidney function really struggled,” she said.

In the years following Poppy’s birth, Madeleine’s health journey continued, and she later underwent a second kidney transplant donated by her mother, another major chapter in her health journey.

Building a safer future for mothers like Madeleine

Today, her story reflects the resilience of women living with chronic kidney disease, and the complex decisions many face when considering pregnancy. For many, the decision to start a family is filled with uncertainty, with limited information about the risks to both their health and their baby.

That’s why the Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation is proud to support research led by Dr Nishanta Tangirala. Her work focuses on improving how women with chronic kidney disease and their clinicians navigate decisions about pregnancy.

By strengthening the evidence base, exploring decision-making experiences and developing tools to support safer planning, this research aims to ensure women have access to the information, care and confidence they need from the very beginning.

Support healthier futures for families

Through the generosity of our donors, research like this is helping more women look towards motherhood with greater confidence, hope and possibility. Donate today to help create healthier futures for women, babies and families.

Donate now

Within the Neonatal Intensive Care (NIC) at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH) is a unique and quiet space known as the Mayfly Room.

This space serves as a sanctuary for families experiencing the loss of a baby, offering them a private place to grieve, connect, and create lasting memories.

Over the past year, this special room has provided comfort to 12 families. Designed to be a “home away from home,” its less clinical environment allows families to spend precious time with their little one. Here, they can share moments that will be cherished forever, from creating special artwork to spending quiet nights holding their baby skin-to-skin.

Complete with a bed, private shower, and kitchen facilities, the Mayfly Room is a haven for love, connection, and healing.

Neonatal Services (NNS) nurse Georgina has seen the vital impact of the room firsthand. “This space allows families to process their grief and loss in a much more private and personal way while making a lifetime of memories with their little one,” she shares.

“Many of these families have welcomed loved ones, held blessings or baptisms in private, and created handprint artwork with siblings and their baby.”

Its creation was inspired by the compassion and vision of Rebecca May, a dedicated NNS nurse who recognised the need for a comfortable, private space for families facing loss. With the support of our generous community, we were able to bring the Mayfly Room to life, providing families with a place to create memories and find comfort.

When the Mayfly room is in use, the Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation, with support from Paddy and Lulu’s Gift, assists families through the provision of meals, as well as flowers and items to assist with memory making. These gestures of care help to bring a small measure of light to families during their darkest days.

For some families, the joy of welcoming a newborn is quickly overshadowed by fear when their baby is born with a congenital condition requiring urgent surgery.

These major abdominal or chest surgeries, though rare, account for 17% of all Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admissions in Australia. For these tiny patients, recovery is a delicate and challenging process.

Feeding after surgery is one of the biggest hurdles. Instead of breastmilk or formula, these newborns often rely on intravenous nutrition made up of carbohydrates, fats, and amino acids. Until now, the standard practice has been to provide all these components immediately. However, emerging evidence suggests that delaying amino acids in critically ill children may significantly improve recovery, reducing time in intensive care by nearly one-third and time on breathing support by almost half. The youngest and most vulnerable patients may benefit the most.

Despite this promising evidence, no large-scale study has ever tested whether this approach works for surgical newborns. Without robust data, doctors cannot confidently change practice, leaving families to endure long, stressful, and costly hospital stays.

That’s where the DELA3Y Trial comes in.

Supported through the WCH Foundation’s Bloom Research Program, Professor Michael Stark and his team are leading a world-first clinical trial to investigate whether a simple change in nutritional timing can transform outcomes for babies recovering from major surgery. This groundbreaking study will compare early versus delayed provision of amino acids in newborns and measure the impact on their recovery.

“Because it’s a simple intervention, there’s every chance that it will be rapidly translated into clinical practice and change the approach to neonatal care for these babies worldwide” – Professor Michael Stark

If successful, the DELA3Y Trial could shorten intensive care stays, reduce reliance on breathing support, improve long-term health outcomes, and revolutionize global medical practice with a simple, cost-effective intervention for NICUs. Prof. Stark’s work has the potential to make a lasting impact on the lives of the youngest and most vulnerable members of our community.

Find out more about the research we support, here.