Harry and sunflowers inspire Royal Children’s Hospital fundraiser

Harry Van Dijk, aged five, and his family’s sunflower cattle feed have raised thousands for the Royal Children’s Hospital.

A Winnindoo farm’s blooming sunflowers have resulted in thousands of dollars raised for sick children and their families.

Whitney Young and her husband Ton van Dijk opened the farmgates to their third pick-your-own sunflowers event at the weekend, with $4500 raised for the Royal Children’s Hospital.

Whitney said the event was inspired three years ago by their own experience with the hospital, and a paddock dedicated to their 300-head of beef cattle with sunflowers, radishes and millets.

“I told [Ton] he couldn’t waste sunflowers on cows, and I have a flower farm business and I wanted to pick them before the cows got in,” Whitney said.

Whitney Young and her partner Ton Van Dijk, their kids Harry Van Dijk, 5, Maddison Rogers, 9, Georgia Rogers, 11, at their sunflowers farm, Winnindoo, Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

“He said he’ll plant a few if that’s what I wanted, and I said ‘what am I going to do with millions of sunflowers?’ and it was his idea to donate to the Royal Children’s.”

Whitney and Ton’s son Harry, aged five, has been a patient of the hospital since birth due to skull complications.

Harry – who has dubbed the RCH “Harry’s hospital” – is still under investigation, but one of his treatments included a trial injection at 2.5 years old to help his immunity, which had a 50 per cent chance of success.

“Now he’s able to get a cold or cold-like symptoms and it won’t be life threatening,” Whitney said.

“We felt really lucky to have [the hospital] in Victoria, it’s a drive for us but we’re so grateful to have adVanced medicine and we’re so lucky they’re so wonderful there.”

Whitney estimated the crop had between 100,000-200,000. Visitors paid to pick their own sunflowers, with the proceeds going to the RCH.

The family raised $4500 this week, which brought their total fundraising efforts to more than $16,000 since the event’s inception.

Elsie, 6, Henri, 10, and James Hart, 12, from Briagolong, visiting Whitney Young's sunflowers farm, Winnindoo, Picture: Yuri Kouzmin