Helping children with Cerebral Palsy

It’s that time again … another Chain Reaction. Each ride is tough but I do it because it is a way for me to create awareness for causes with which I have a personal connection and ensure funds raised go to where they are really needed!

Chain Reaction is all about raising funds to help seriously ill children. Funds raised are given to a number of children’s charities and as it happens, I have been touched by many of the charities that have benefited from Chain Reaction.

Thanks to Chain Reaction:

- The Cerebral Palsy Education Centre (CPEC) Equipment & Teaching Aids fund was able to buy key equipment that is able to change the future for disabled children … something my family truly understand through experience.

- Ambulance Victoria bought a purpose-built New Born Emergency Transport Service (NETS) Ambulance for. Lily used a NETS ambulance when she was rushed from the Royal Women’s to the Children’s Hospital – she weighed only 900 grams.

- CPEC constructed a new Education & Training Centre. Without CPEC, Lily would not have learned the skills to be able to feed herself or to even communicate!

- The Monash Children’s Hospital purchased a $650,000 MRI Incubator for its neonatal intensive care unit. Lily and Ruby were born at 28 weeks and this much needed machine didn’t exist. Now that it does, other premature babies like Lily and Ruby can benefit.

- The Starlight Children’s Foundation can continue to run vital programs for children across Australia. Lily has been one of the many children to have a visit from Captain Starlight during lengthy hospital stays, and as any parent will tell you, a smile from your child when she is in a hospital bed, means more to you than anything in the world at that time.

I hope you can see why Chain Reaction is so very personal for me and why I need you to support this event again.

Last year my Chain Reaction team raised $155,000 of the $1.05 m total that was raised. Corporate sponsorship played a key role in this fund raising. This year, however, I do not have corporate sponsorship. So I ask that, if you know of any business that would like to support my ride in Chain Reaction, please pass on my details.

As always, your support, great or small, is much appreciated. Please click here to donate.

Dudley Hoskin, a Goldman Sachs colleague, is 1 of 6 guys motivated by team member Chris McLeod’s 9 year old daughter’s rare chromosome disorder, to ride around Australia to raise funds for the Smile Foundation. The 15,700km journey will take 80 days with an average of 220km a day!

The team rolled out of Sydney with a Police escort on the 30th of June, and heading anti-clockwise the team have found themselves riding though amazing scenery, weather and pain! The boys had company from Darwin to Broome with 25 cyclists joining the peloton and raising $190k for the privilege.

Dudley says “living in a tent, 4am starts and daily distances up to 340km is taking its toll on back and bum. All the team are in great spirits and injury free as we tackle the last 2,200km home. Special thanks to The Smile Foundation who have supported this venture to the finite detail and turned a tough cycle into an epic adventure”. Ah no need to tell these lads to HTFU!

So far $1m has been raised and they still have 2 weeks left on the bike. The team will be arriving in Melbourne on Sunday the 11th of September and you can join them from Sorrento to Melbourne. They will be meeting at Sorrento Ferry Park at 10:30am and rolling out at 11:00am, if you can take it down that far they will also being picking up riders at the bottom of Olivers Hills, Frankston at 12.45pm.