Riding 700km for children with cancer
Think you could ride a bike 700km from Newcastle, NSW to Gold Coast, QLD? This is exactly what two incredible 15-year-old girls have done to raise funds for childhood cancer research. Over seven days, Phoenix Julian and Hayley Dell completed this long-distance journey, raising a total of $1500 for our Foundation.
Phoenix and Hayley compete in road and track cycling at the Hunter Academy of Sport (HAS), a sport academy assisting talented junior athletes from regional areas of NSW.
Having family and friends who have battled with, and some who have lost their battles with, cancer was the driving force behind the girls’ decision to support our Foundation. “Hayley and I felt deeply about supporting those affected by cancer, in particular children affected by it,” Phoenix shared. “We can’t imagine what it’s like for them and their families to go through.”
The girls were barely even phased by the challenge that would be gruelling for most. “It was much easier than we thought,” said Phoenix. “It rained for three days and was sunny for four, which made it an incredible seven-day journey averaging 100km a day.”
When asked if they would consider doing something like this again, Phoenix did not hesitate to respond favourably. “It was an unbelievable experience to be able to do it with my best friend and I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” she expressed. “But next time I think we’ll look for a bigger challenge!”
We commend Phoenix and Hayley on their incredible achievement. Not only have they helped us in our commitment to see more children live the lives they deserve, but they have set a great example for other young people out there who want to help make a difference in the community.
“We both only thought we would raise $500,” admitted Phoenix. “But we had so much support from our local community and even managed to raise enough to cover the expenses of the trip!”
As with any feat of this magnitude, there are people that need to be thanked. “Thank you to Hayley’s dad Jeremy for being our chaperone,” said Phoenix. “We’d also like to thank all our families for their love and support on our incredible journey. A special thanks to our coach Ross Hayter who never doubted for a second that we couldn’t do this and saw it as a good opportunity for training!”
Finally, Phoenix and Hayley thank “all that donated and encouraged us on our journey.” It’s not enough to execute an incredible fundraising challenge like this, but you also need the support of the community to help make a real difference. We are so thankful for Phoenix and Hayley for choosing to support childhood cancer research and we appreciate the community for rightfully getting behind these amazing young ladies.