Romancing the Stone owner Tom Hogg with Jessica Halden and Barry Young. Picture: Andrew Williams.

Concert for a cause in Maida Vale

A concert playing 60s, 70s and 80s classics is raising funds to help quadruple amputee survivor of meningococcal septicemia Jessica Halden become independent.
February 22, 2024
Andrew Williams

THE Amanda Young Foundation is again partnering with Romancing the Stone Garden to raise funds for Jessica Halden, a quadruple amputee survivor of meningococcal septicemia.

The concert will take place on Friday, March 15, from 7.30pm to 10pm and will include a light supper for all attendees.

Ms Halden, now 33, contracted the disease in 1993, just three weeks before her third birthday. She has never been able to have artificial legs fitted because both legs were amputated just below the hip joint.

For the last two years Ms Halden has been raising funds to purchase a wheelchair accessible Kia Carnival, which will then need to be modified for her to drive.

At the time of publishing, just over $7500 of the $55,000 target has been raised through Ms Halden’s GoFundMe, PayPal, and containers for change scheme number.

“It’s been very hard to get the word out there, especially for fundraising,” she said.

Through the National Disability Insurance Fund (NDIS), Ms Halden is funded for both lessons and modifications for the car, but to qualify for these benefits the car must be brand new and not second hand.

Ms Halden applied for her driver’s licence when she was 16 years old but was turned away due to her disability.

It wasn’t until she joined the NDIS that she found out she was eligible for lessons and funding for modifications.

“They literally looked at my arms and said no. Now I’m going to prove them wrong,” she said.

Currently, she relies on her mother and her support worker to get around, but now she wants independence.

Tickets for the charity concert will cost $35, with all the proceeds going towards Ms Halden.

It will showcase the classics of the 60s, 70s, 80s, from music legends such as The Beatles, Neil Diamond, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Elvis, Abba, The Monkeys, The Bee Gees, Queen, and Elton John.

The Romancing the Stone amphitheater is located at 3 Lilian Road, Maida Vale. To book tickets call Tom Hogg on 9454 4298 or book online at here.

Ms Halden’s containers for change scheme number is C11294247, and her GoFundMe can be found online here.

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