Shine and Dine 2015 for Make-A-Wish is Set to Create More Wishes

The event of the year, Shine and Dine, is due to take place on June 5th, 2015 at the stunning Dolton House Jones Bay Wharf, Pyrmont. Shine and Dine is a spectacular black tie charity dinner that raises awareness, funds and valuable wishes for terminally ill children through Make-a-Wish Australia. In its third year, Shine and Dine has cemented themselves as the unmissable event to attend attracting many supporters and celebrities wanting to support this amazing cause. 

Sharon Melhem

Sharon Melhem is the beautiful and powerful brain-child behind the Shine and Dine annual event. Working hard to source supporters, promoters, suppliers and everything that goes into creating this event, Sharon is busily on the go to achieve enormous dreams and wishes for these children. Sharon kindly found some time from her hectic schedule to let me find out a little more about her.

WHERE DID THE IDEA OF SHINE AND DINE COME FROM?
I have always worked in marketing and event strategy and as a result of increased consulting requests I started Kouture Productions. One of my client's needed help with a charity event for their Miss World Australia pageant and realising I could utilise my skills, experiences and networks to help others was extremely rewarding. This experience influenced me onto the Shine and Dine concept!

HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN A SUPPORTER OF MAKE-A-WISH AUSTRALIA? 
I've always had a soft spot for children; they are just beautiful souls. To learn about Make-A-Wish wish granting cause and how they provide hope and joy to children who are facing a life threatening illness just melted my heart. 

I had to help and make sure more of these wishes were granted more frequently. Make-A-Wish receives over 2,000 wishes from kids every year – these wishes exceeds the funding available.

WHO HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SUPPORT FOR SHINE AND DINE?
My family. They go on the entire journey with me; from all the lows and to all the highs. I would not know where I would be without them. I am truly blessed.

WHERE DO YOU HOPE TO SEE SHINE AND DINE IN 3 YEARS TIME?
I hope for Shine and Dine to grow bigger and better year on year and that even more funds are raised for these kids. It would be a dream come true for Shine and Dine to be known as the charity gala dinner and cause that people cannot ignore and want to support.

WHAT IS YOUR ONE WISH?
To be able to work full time in developing more charitable event concepts under the Kouture Productions umbrella so my impact is greater for people in need.

Shine and Dine 2013

Shine and Dine 2014

This is one event you won't want to miss for 2015 so jump online to their website here and get yourself a ticket to this fabulous night where you'll be creating memorable wishes. With amazing supporters from the likes of House of K'dor, James Shawshank, and Merc Real Estate you'll want to be apart of this!

To Sharon - thank you for making time to catch up with me and share your thoughts and dreams. You're an amazing soul putting yourself out there to help others. I wish you all the success and an awesome Shine and Dine 2015. 

See you all at Shine and Dine!

Jo x

Andrea's Amazing Wish

I was honoured to a special night with my stunning friend, Sharon Melhem, who had invited me to attend a special Make-A-Wish Australia event fittingly held at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA). The event, Andrea's Amazing Wish, was in honour of Andrea Alzened, a beautiful 9 years old girl who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Make-A-Wish grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions to provide hope, inspiration and strength. The power of the wish encourages children to continue fighting and provides them with hope to achieve a dream. Andrea's dream was to be a professional artist where she could have people come and see her work.

Andrea loves art and when she is "doing her artwork it gets her excited and happy and she forgets that she is feeling sick". When Andrea was diagnosed with this horrible disease her mother, Tamar, had enrolled her into art lessons to help her through her treatments. It definitely worked - during her treatments, Andrea would paint, draw and sculpt and loose herself into a pain-free world where she is able to be creative and forget about the reality of what she is going through.

Through the amazing efforts and work of Make-A-Wish, the MCA was truly onboard with this wish and had offered to showcase Andrea's art pieces. Andrea is the youngest person to have her artworks displayed at the MCA, an achievement she and her family would be so proud of and be the envy of many artists, and her artwork is absolutely amazing for someone so young; a natural talent.

Not only did the MCA help Andrea achieve her wish, but Google also heard about Andrea and had commissioned her to create a "Google Doodle" which they will have displayed in their office here in Sydney, Australia. To take it another step further, Sass and Bide has enlarged one of Andrea's painting and is displaying it in their Brisbane office and provided a beautiful treat to Andrea and her sister by custom making dresses for them to wear on the opening night of Andrea's art exhibition. 

On this night, Andrea became an official artist; she kindly offered two of her art pieces to be auctioned off and with the money raised, she donated it to Make-A-Wish so that they can continue providing wishes for other children. This is a beautiful and selfless act I've seen and experience; not only has Andrea gone, and still is, going through so much with her treatments, but she is still willing to give to help others. For a 9 years old girl, she has a very big heart. 

Currently the stats show that approximately 2,000 children around Australia are diagnosed with a life-threatning medical condition and Make-A-Wish have granted 500 wishes, so there is so much more to grant and more funds are needed to help grant these wishes. I encourage you to donate today and help make wishes like Andrea come true.

To help raise awareness and much needed funds to make these wishes come true, Sharon Melhem founded Shine & Dine, an annual fundraiser in support of Make-A-Wish Foundation. Her amazing work and dedication has helped Make-A-Wish provide more wishes to these children and their families, giving them hope, strength and joy. It provides them with a goal to aim for and for a moment, helps them forget about the reality they are currently going through.

The annual Shine & Dine is set for next year and is schedule for 5 June 2015. Mark this special occasion into your calendar and come support an amazing event and have a fabulous night. I'll be there and I hope to see you there!

To Make-A-Wish Foundation - personally, I'd like to say, what an amazing job you do and the power of a wish you provide goes beyond what a child dreams of. Keep up with the great work!

To Sharon - you have a massive heart that goes around the universe. The annual Shine & Dine event you organise, the support you provide and the energy you create is truly amazing. You are a beautiful person both inside and outside and I am so lucky to call you my friend.

Jo x