This year’s Jeans for Genes campaign was the 31st to be launched in Gerringong and the community again supported this fundraising with generosity and goodwill.

A total of 180 people attended the Trivia Night at Gerroa Boat Fisherman’s Club and they bought lots of raffle tickets on the night and at Gerringong IGA prior to the event.

CMRI Gerringong members worked tirelessly to ensure the event was a success with lots of friendly competition between tables and fast questions by emcees Glen Isemonger and Dave Peade.

The Jeans for Genes fundraising target is traditionally around $10,000 for the Gerringong committee and this year the target was met again thanks to our generous supporters.

These included the businesses who donated prizes, the Boat Fisherman’s Club, Gerringong Public School students and Kiama Quilters’ Guild which creates and donates a beautiful denim-look quilt each year.

The aim is always to support the ground-breaking research carried out by the scientists at Westmead to find cures for childhood diseases: cancer, neurobiology, embryology, genomics and gene therapy.

Nationally, the Jeans for Genes campaign was held on 7 August and raised $2.5 million.

Families of children living with genetic conditions held sporting events, formal dinners, denim days at their schools and cake stalls.

Lucy Hill, President of the CMRI Gerringong Committee geared up for Jeans for Genes

The families of the 1 in 20 kids facing a birth defect or genetic disease are used to hearing words like “incurable” or “lifelong effects”.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Right now, we’re working on gene therapy to find cures for previously incurable genetic diseases.

Kids just want to be kids, but instead of playing sports with their friends or catching butterflies on a sunny day, these kids are getting liver transplants, taking dozens of medications, or getting their next dose of chemotherapy.

Your support helps the scientists at Children’s Medical Research Institute find cures, so these kids and millions more like them can go back to being kids.

Gerringong Breakers players Romy Christiansen and Louis Astin helped spread the news about the Trivia Night

Alessia is one of the 2025 faces of Jeans for Genes the iconic fundraising day that supports the labs at Children’s Medical Research Institute so scientists can do work today to change lives tomorrow.

She was born perfect in the eyes of her parents Adriana and Adam but one call, when she was two weeks old, delivered devastating news. Alessia had become the first child in NSW to be picked up for Spinal Muscular Atrophy on the newborn screening test.

Mum Adriana said Alessia who had the severe form of the disease, was pre-symptomatic, and they had to act fast.

“The natural course of the condition is that the nerves connecting to her muscles would waste away, and it would affect her ability to sit up, to crawl, to walk, to meet all of her milestones, to the point where she would lose the ability to breathe,’’ Adriana said.

“Ultimately it would take her life! As a best case scenario, we were looking at a lifespan of two years.’’

As Alessia’s parents tried to comprehend this news – they were told something equally life-changing! NSW was taking part in a trial of a new gene therapy following its success overseas.

With one injection, Alessia’s genetic error could be corrected within her cells, effectively curing her condition.

“I couldn't believe what I was reading with gene therapy,’’ Adam said. “It was truly amazing. Reading about it was incredible, but then for it actually to be happening in front of our eyes was, next level.’’

Alessia slept through her gene therapy infusion and went home.

Over the next few years her parents waited and watched as she reached many childhood milestones that should never have been possible, and today, she is a happy and healthy seven-year-old lacking only a small amount of muscular strength in her legs.

To find out more about the research a monthly Discovery Day held at the Westmead CMRI laboratories allows members of the community to tour the labs, meet the scientists, learn about the research and enjoy a wonderful lunch.

To book a Discovery Day visit contact CMRI on 1800 436 437 or email [email protected].