Why We Do This

Our commitment to House for Life has now seen over $6.5 million be donated to Mater Little Miracles, from the sale of nine homes over the past seventeen years!

There is nothing more heartbreaking than hearing that a baby needs specialist care in hospital, and there’s nothing more uplifting than knowing that at Plantation Homes, we have made a difference to the lives of sick and premature babies and their families.

We are proud that funds raised over the years have contributed to purchasing vital pieces of equipment to assist in the exceptional care provided to babies while they are in Mater’s NCCU.

Medical research is the key to improving the health of us all, including the smallest of patients. Proceeds from the House for Life project have also greatly assisted Mater researchers to continue important research projects to improve the health outcomes of mothers and their babies. We look forward to continuing this commitment in the future.

2022 House For Life Ambassadors

They have two beautiful and precious Mater Little Miracles of their own.

Amber Ward and Jed Adcock, former AFL Brisbane Lions captain and current assistant coach, are grateful to be House for Life 2022 ambassadors.

Amber and Jed proudly champion Plantation Homes’ incredible ongoing support of Mater’s tiniest and most vulnerable patients. They know just how invaluable it is.

Both of Amber and Jed’s sons, Hugo and Freddie, were cared for at Mater Mothers’ Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU) before being healthy enough to go home.

Fast-forward to today, two-year-old Hugo is hitting all of his developmental milestones. Put simply, doing everything a healthy, happy toddler does. Including kicking a football!

That’s thanks to the expert care provided by Mater’s specialist NCCU team.

Hugo was born in May 2020, 13 weeks premature, and spent 89 days in NCCU fighting for his life while Amber and Jed rode a heart-wrenching, emotional rollercoaster.

Weighing just 940 grams at 27 weeks gestation, baby Hugo needed to be intubated and had difficulty breathing. He endured a number of extremely daunting complications – including three blood transfusions and a small grade two bleed on his brain.

“Hugo was so little; he was whisked away to NCCU straight away,” Amber reflects. “Even though I was upset that I had missed the opportunity to have skin-to-skin contact and breastfeed Hugo, I knew he was in the best hands and was receiving the care he needed.

"After a few hours, we were able to see Hugo in his little cot. It wasn’t until day three that I was actually able to hold him. Hugo is so beautiful and such a fighter."

Given Hugo’s lengthy and “surreal” stay in the NCCU, Amber and Jed have been steadfast in their willingness and commitment to give back to Mater.

Last December, expecting their second child together, Amber was ready to officially launch her ambassador role for the House for Life 2022 project with a media call when fate intervened. She went into early labour!

Enter Freddie, born at Mater five weeks premature and also requiring care at NCCU. Thankfully, Freddie spent just two nights in the Mater NCCU to monitor his breathing.

While a less daunting experience, it gave Amber and Jed the opportunity to reconnect with the dedicated nurses and specialists who had cared for Hugo just 18 months earlier.

“While it was a challenging and heartbreaking time when our boys were in hospital, it was also an uplifting period, knowing that they were being well-looked after each and every day by the Mater team,” Amber said.

As House for Life ambassadors, Amber and Jed hope to generate greater awareness of the upcoming auction at Helensvale on 15 October.

It is the ninth House for Life project undertaken by Plantation Homes in support of Mater Little Miracles – an outstanding philanthropic contribution now exceeding $5million.

For parents like Amber and Jed, the true value of this generosity cannot be measured.

“We’re forever grateful for what the NCCU and Mater did for us,” Jed said. “And it’s not just our family. It’s also every other family who have been in the same situation.”

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