Make-A-Wish Sizzles Up Support at Bunnings (a.k.a. Hammerbarn) Stores Nationwide!

To celebrate the transformation of six Bunnings Warehouses into real-life Bluey ‘Hammerbarn’ stores during February, Make-A-Wish Australia teamed up with Bunnings to host sausage sizzles at 30 stores across Australia and one store in New Zealand raising over $130,000 to help grant wishes for critically ill kids.

A Make-A-Wish volunteer stands on either side of Bluey and Bingo (costumes), arms extended as if waving at the camera. They all stand together in front of a Bunnings Warehouse that has been converted into a 'Hammerbarn' store from the iconic Bluey children's TV show.

A very special mention to the 29 volunteer branches who were involved and to the 200+ incredible volunteers and event helpers (including our wonderful business partners Hilton and Tarocash) who braved the heat over the weekend to make this special event happen.

We are thrilled to have had volunteer branch engagement to this scale, and together, our Wish Force cooked over 30,000 sausages, sliced over 1,200kg of onions, served up over 2,000 loaves of bread, sauced over 1,000L of condiments, and sold over 10,000 drinks - wackadoo!

Ten Make-A-Wish volunteers standing together behind a table with a blue Make-A-Wish tablecloth. The volunteers are wearing 'Hammerbarn' aprons and smiling at the camera. They are posed under a tent in a Bunnings parking lot, where the BBQ is hosted.

A big thank you to Bunnings Warehouse for enabling Make-A-Wish to get involved and raise mission critical funds. Connecting with the community provides our Wish Force great joy and we loved the chance to raise awareness for an important cause.

We are also grateful to everyone who visited one of the Make-A-Wish hosted Bunnings sizzles to grab a snag and help make wishes come true for sick kids. It’s because of supporters like you that we can grant wishes for kids like Alexander.

Eleven Make-A-Wish volunteers pose together under a tent in the parking lot of a Bunnings Warehouse. They are all wearing blue Make-A-Wish t-shirts and smiling at the camera. Condiments sit on the table in front of them, ready to be used in the day's sausage sizzle fundraiser.

Alexander, 9, Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, wished “to visit Australia Zoo to touch and learn about animals”. Alexander absolutely LOVES animals! He loves to learn about different types of animals and always has questions to ask. For his wish, Alexander and his family travelled to Queensland and got to go to the zoo where ‘there was the most amount of animals’ and experienced close up encounters with some of his favourite furry (and not so furry) friends!

To kick off Alexander’s Animal Adventure, he received an official zookeeper outfit, which he kept as a special reminder of his wish. Then, of course, there were the animals. During his in-depth, guided tour, Alexander got to ask all the questions he could think of! He even got to get up close to some giraffes, rhinos, koalas, and a red panda.

Alex, a nine-year-old boy, stands closely to a red panda, which is perched up on a wooden pillar with a food plate near its feet. Alex rests his right hand on the pillar and smiles at the camera.

Alex was absolutely captivated by the animal encounters, especially the red panda. This was the highlight for us - seeing him so happy... Alex and our family have made some amazing memories that we will cherish forever. The wish experience was also something positive to look forward to during challenging times.

Courtney, Alex's mum