Meet Blip, the $12 Australian-produced toy that is about to sweep the nation.
Not only is Blip one of the cutest Plushies around, funds raised also go towards helping sick children who endure multiple hospital stays due to illness, injuries and other conditions that require frequent hospital stays.
Blip is being sold on behalf of Hospitals United for Sick Kids, which funds services that help support children and their families during hospital visits, but also finance services that help these children get back home as soon as possible.
Meet Blip, the $12 Australian-made toy that is about to sweep the nation. (Hospitals United for Sick Kids)
Blip is even the star of his own TV show, which features on the organisation’s website.
There’s also a keyring available. The adorable plushie is one of many products being sold to help raise funds for the organisation. 
“We’ve got the bucket hats. And also Coles Mum’s Sauce and Coles Mum’s Jam, these are weekly purchase products. If you look out for those product, you can go and buy one and you’re going to make a huge difference,” CEO Nicky Bowie tells nine.com.au.
READ MORE: NRL star and influencer wife’s heartbreak after pregnancy loss
READ MORE: Miranda Kerr’s billionaire husband’s surprising screen-time rule for kids
READ MORE: Aussies paying highest price in the world for this grocery staple
Blip is even the star of his own TV show which features on the organisation’s website. (Hospitals United for Sick Kids)
Lowes bucket hats also raise funds for Hospitals United for Sick Kids. (Hospitals United for Sick Kids)
Blip made his national television debut on Today this morning to mark National Children’s Week (October 18 – 26), joined by one of the many families that has been supported by programs funded by the organisation.
Francis, five, was born with a hole in his heart as well as Down syndrome.
Francis, five, was born with a hole in his heart as well as Down syndrome. (Hospitals United for Sick Kids)
He has undergone multiple hospital procedures including blood tests which have caused trauma. (Hospitals United for Sick Kids)
“He’s easy to smile, easy to laugh, he has an infectious way about him, he loves Toy Story, he loves dinosaurs especially. He loves music and singing. He loves his brothers,” mum Xaviera tells nine.com.au.
Francis undergoes frequent treatment at Prince Charles Hospital.
“Down syndrome comes with a lifetime of ensuring that he stays up to date with his milestones, just tracking the milestones and making sure he is continuing to develop, in his own time … so we require regular blood tests and testing associated with his eyesight, his hearing, all those sorts of things.”
A recent hospital visit for another blood test was supported by a Child Life Therapist funded by Hospitals United for Sick Kids.
“The therapist spoke to us the day before and got a bit of an idea of what Francis likes , what he doesn’t like, what things that make him happy … we were able to get a blood test without the trauma that we usually sort of have.
“All the nurses and doctors were actually singing the ABC song together in unison so it was a really lovely experience actually.”
Francis was born with a hole in his heart and Down syndrome. (Hospitals United for Sick Kids)
He undergoes frequent treatment at Prince Charles Hospital. (Hospitals United for Sick Kids)
Services such as these take enormous pressure off the parents of sick children.
“I actually have had a great reluctance to get him a blood test and so this basically was really freeing for our family, to not have the trauma associated with going even into a hospital or seeing a stethoscope or anything like that.
“It’s been a huge deal for our family.”
For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.
The ultimate goal of Hospitals United for Sick Kids is to bring multiple support services for sick children under one umbrella and ensure they are properly supported in their work.
“And the beauty of that model isn’t just that we collect the money nationally with national brands and products. We actually drop that money back into the areas it was raised in,” Bowie says.
Xaviera and Ben with their children Ignatius, 14, and twins Ernie and Francis, five. (Hospitals United for Sick Kids)
Sales of Blip, Lowes bucket hats and multiple products at Coles help fund this important work. (Hospitals United for Sick Kids)
Hospitals United for Sick Kids’s biggest founding partner is Coles. They are also supported by Lowes and Toymate.
”Coles have a range of products on their shelves. There are three pasta sauces and a pizza sauce, which gives back 50 cents to Hospitals United for Sick Kids. It’s raised over three and a half million dollars. So this is amazing.”
Other products that help raise funds for the organisation include some from Arnott’s, Swiss, Kellanova, Grinders and soon, Kraft Heinz and Mars.
The hilarious texts parents have sent their kids
Funds raised go to making hospitals more homely for sick kids through Child Life Therapy, investing in health care to reduce hospital stays and at-home treatment, investing in advanced treatment and technology and preventing hospitalisation in the first place.
“Every sick child, it’s about that child and their experience. It’s very different. It could be short-term, it could be medium-term, it could be a long-term critical or terminal illness. It’s such a emotional thing for the families as well as the children,”Bowie adds.
READ MORE: Our honest thoughts on Apple’s $429 AirPods
“These experiences that these children have in hospital are equally traumatic and sometimes the emotional turmoil is as bad as the actual sickness itself.
‘It’s such a emotional thing for the families as well as the children.’ (Hospitals United for Sick Kids)
“So one of the things we heavily invest in is things that are reducing that stress and anxiety for both the child and their siblings and parents.
“Children need to be in hospital to get the best care they possibly can. There’s also lots of research that proves that if a child feels less anxious, less stressed out, their recovery periods are much better.
“So if you can make that environment feel more like home, they do have better outcomes.”
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.