Col Reynolds $6m Gift to Sick Kids

This last financial year the Oncology Children's Foundation (OCF) has handed over $2,110,000 to the Onoclogy Research Unit at The Children's Hospital at Westmead. This takes the total of funds handed over to the Onocology Research Unit, at The Children's Hospital at Westmead to over $6million.

Click here to listen to Col's story on Today Tonight.

Col Reynolds, the founder of OCF, with Dr Luce Dalla-Pozza

In 1984 Col (a coach tour driver) started the "Oncology Children's Tours" which was set up to take cancer suffering children out of the hospital on day and weekend tours to wildlife parks, snowfields and anywhere else that children could have a good time. Col operated, funded and sourced sponsorship for all of these tours and of course drove the bus himself. After 10 years, doctors at the children's hospital convinced Col that the best way to continue to support these children was to raise funds and direct those funds into childhood cancer research so in 1993 the "Oncology Children's Foundation" was founded. The ABC Australian Story documented Col's journey in 1998 and in the year 2000 Col's dedication to his cause was rewarded with an "Order of Australia Medal"

Sunday Telegraph - 22nd June

Col's dream was to one day handover a cheque for $1 million dollars to the Oncology Research Unit (ORU) at the Children's Hospital at Westmead. During the past 12 months Col's dream finally came true when in June 2007 he handed over a cheque for $1 million. Not bad you may say, well this week marks another significant moment for Col when he handed over a $1 gold coin. This donation makes a total six million dollars that Col has been responsible for. He truly is the six million dollar man to thousands of children.

For a quarter of a century, the former coach-tour driver has devoted his life to raising money for children with cancer.

"I'm very humbled", he said. "I just want to give the greatest gift of all to kids, and that's the gift of life.

"I'm looking forward to the day when we won't be in business any more - we will have to retire."

The OCF's fundraising projects have included call-centre appeals, sponsored bicycle rides in Australia, Cambodia and Vietnam, golf days and corporate events.

Mr Reynolds believes a $2.5 million Gene Therapy Project, which his charity has agreed to fund over the next five years at the hospital, will be the next major break through in cancer treatment.

The 69year old says when he first started helping children with cancer in 1984, the survival rate was about three per cent.Today, it is nearly 80 per cent. Seeing young cancer patients recover and go on to lead full lives is the rewarding part of Mr Reynolds' work.