Excited Matt our new calendar kid | Northern Rivers News | Local News in Northern Rivers

Alex Easton | 25th November 2009

The happy face of Matthew Boggis will grace the front cover of the 2010 Our Kids Calendar, which is being launched in Lismore today.

MATT BOGGIS is one excited little boy.

Today the 10-year-old Suffolk Park resident becomes the face of the Our Kids fundraising program with the launch of the 2010 Our Kids Calendar, featuring Matt on the cover and a Christmas CD, at Goonellabah’s Invercauld House.

The calendar and CD, which features Christmas carols sung by local high school students, raises money for Lismore Base Hospital’s children’s ward and special care nursery.

Matt’s mum, Sharon, said her son had a communication disorder, called severe dyspraxia, accompanied by a variety of medical conditions.

On Monday he had surgery to remove eight teeth because of dental problems and has had a broad mix of other issues. However, Mrs Boggis said there was no connecting factor between the conditions. The technical term was ‘complex medical needs’.

Despite his health issues, Mrs Boggis said her son was blessed. Since birth he had been surrounded by people dedicated to helping him – from Lismore paediatrician Chris Ingall and local therapists to the staff and students at Byron Bay Catholic primary school St Finbarr’s.

Mrs Boggis said the school was a good environment for Matt.

“It’s a fantastic school,” she said. “The kids all love him, they are really supportive of us as a family and of him as an individual.”

If being invited to have his picture taken by The Northern Star chief photographer Jacklyn Wagner for the Our Kids Calendar had been exciting for Matt, learning he would be on the cover was a thrill.

Matt won’t be able to make it to today’s launch, but is eager to get his copy of the calendar.

“I think what’s really good about (the calendar) is it’s really local,” Mrs Boggis said. “It’s nice to have something community-based about kids with needs in this area.”

The 2009 calendar sold out within a month and organisers hope to repeat the effort for next year’s calendar. The calendar and CD will be sold across the region in a $20 package. They can be also ordered by emailing ourkids.LBH@ncahs.health.nsw.gov.au

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