COMMUNITY FUNDRAISING 2018-19

July 2019

This story first appeared in the MS Annual Report 2019.

When you think of community fundraising, most people envision a sausage sizzle, so launching a seven day hike in the Australian desert for MS was slightly out of the box.

In 2018, we put a call out to the community, offering 15 spots to hike the Larapinta Trail in May 2019 and raise money for people with multiple sclerosis at the same time.

To our welcome surprise the fundraising expedition was more successful than we could have expected, so we offered a second trip in June for another 14 people, which filled up just as fast.

We spoke to Marg who was part of the first group in May and we asked her why she wanted to embark on such a challenge, all in the name of MS.

“Our eldest son Corey has multiple sclerosis, he was diagnosed when he was 25 and he’s now 42 so he’s had it for 17 years…it’s such a close cause to my heart and the trip was something I could properly challenge myself with,” she said.

Marg said that the training she put in, in the 12 months leading up to the trek, really showed people how hard she was working to fundraise and raise awareness for MS.

For Marg the trip was important in terms of fundraising but raising awareness about living well with multiple sclerosis was just as significant.

“When Corey was first diagnosed, multiple sclerosis wasn’t as well known. It wasn’t in the public as much… everyone sort of thought you’d end up in a wheelchair and that’s it. There wasn’t that idea that you could live well with MS at all,” Marg says.

“We have done a lot of fundraising for MSL over the years but I wanted to do this one because it was increasing an awareness and also fundraising for people who are living with multiple sclerosis and accessing services from MSL.”