Covid-19 has stopped a lot of things in 2020, but cancer is not one of them.
That’s why 24 Hour Fight Against Cancer still hopes to raise around $50,000 this year.
“We are being positive, looking up, even though some of our big events, such as our annual launch, the golf and ladies days and the Paul Nunnari push to local schools – and the big one, the 24 Hour Walk in October, can’t go ahead,’’ says Warren Morrison chairman of the charity.
“We have certainly missed the camaraderie among our teams and the sponsors at all these events, which is always special, because we’re like a big family.
“But we press ahead because cancer hasn’t gone away,’’ he says.
“This year, if we get to $50,000, I think that would be great.’’
A lot of that will hopefully come from the return of the Sleeping Giant giant raffle, which is offering a whopping $10,000 in prizes.
Mr Morrison is the owner of the Sleeping Giant in Campbelltown, which has supported 24 Hour since its inception by the late, great Fred Borg.
The raffle is available online through the charity’s website here, although committee members can still sell tickets the old fashioned way.
“Go online, grab your tickets and while there donate to the raffle,’’ he says.
“You can also if you have time check out all the things that we do every year.’’
The raffle will be drawn at a special fundraising day at Dean Choma’s Fastlane Karting on October 10, the scheduled date for this year’s 24 Hour Walk.
Normally scores of teams would swarm on to the athletics track of Campbelltown Sports Stadium early in the morning and set up their tents.
That won’t happen in 2020, thanks to the pandemic, but teams are encouraged to devise their own fundraising events on October 10 – making sure they wear their distinctive 24 Hour Walk shirts from last year.
“They can walk to the park, walk around the neighbourhood, whatever you want to do, have your blue shirt on, take some photos and put it on Facebook,’’ explains Mr Morrison.
“That way we are not giving up – cancer hasn’t given up so we’re not either.’’
Last year the 24 Hour events raised $270,000 and the money will mean the Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre will get funding for a physiotherapist one day a week .
There will also be hydrotherapist for the lymphodema support program, as well as a McGrath breast cancer nurse for an additional one day a week.
Mr Morrison said one of the highlights so far is a $10,000 donation from Wests Group Macarthur, which will go towards the purchase of a blood centrifuge machine and freezer to allow doctors at the Cancer Therapy Centre to monitor the blood of patients receiving hormone treatment to better manage side effects.
“That was really great and we are very grateful to Wests,’’ says Mr Morrison.
