What a year 2015 was


Happy New Year!

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2015 was incredible. I wanted to share with you some of the highlights. It’s a bit of a read, so if you don’t get much further than this introduction, thank you for your support. You have been an important part in showing the world the Brain is where the heart lives.
/Liz

 


What a year 2015 was.

When I look back and reflect, a common theme seems to emerge: young people showing their incredible heart for our ‘brainsmatter’ projects. Losing Connor at 18 to brain cancer, with his entire life looming brightly before us (and him) is an absolute tragedy and we continue each day to find our way without him. I won’t lie, it isn’t easy. However, the young people that have so enthusiastically embraced our charity has been an incredible elixir.

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Last year we engaged over 15,000 young people in our school focused Brain Week (as part of the Australian Brain Cancer Awareness Week) and had over 10,000 young kids kicking goals for brain cancer through our partnership with the SMJFL (Southern Metro Junior Football League). Connor’s Run was a massive success in Melbourne and through our Shadow Runs literally around the world: the vast majority of participants’ young people under 25. And our very popular youth volunteers, more commonly known as our “Elf Help” lending their own kind of awesome at our Very Merry Christmas Market and at this year’s Bayside Carol’s in the Park.

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A few young people connected to our charity did extraordinary things: Dan Canta became the youngest Australian male to swim the English Channel (in custom Connor’s Run bathers!), Feliks Zemdegs regained his World Championship Rubik’s Cube title and most impressively Harry Dunn, a 17 yr old brain tumour survivor (diagnosed just months after he did Connor’s Run 2014) completed the 18km course close to his previous time and led his Harry’s Heroes team to raise over $20,000.

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Personally, the “Connor’s 100km Erg” competition between the men’s & women’s crew teams at Stanford University and University of Wisconsin in the US was very special. Connor dreamed of rowing for one of these schools and that both schools embraced this event so enthusiastically was heart warming. Nearly $20,000 was raised, of which we’ve given the majority to each school’s neuro science (brain cancer) department.

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This youthful enthusiasm has given me even greater determination for our charity to make significant contributions & impact in the global & Australia wide research effort that will lead to new treatments and hopefully, one day, a cure. We now have relationships with the global leading researchers of paediatric (& adult) ependymoma (the type of tumour that took Connor’s life) and paediatric brain cancer research in general throughout Australia. We have plans to further our funding into the current work being done, encourage and fund increased collaboration in Australia and throughout the world and increase our funding to CERN (the global Collaborative Ependymoma Research Network).

Our Music Matters Grants program continues to grow and we are now assisting young people with at home music therapy through our hospital based referral programs in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia. We are working towards offering a similar program for Yoga Therapy this year.

Around the world, several thousand young people have lost their lives to brain cancer since Connor passed away in April 2013. These are the sobering facts. Our presence, positive energy and support means we can help get things done and at a much needed faster pace.

To each of you that played your part in 2015, whether you walked, ran, baked, dressed in grey, volunteered, donated, bought a beanie, liked our social media posts, or just gave us some encouragement…a heartfelt thank you! You are showing the world “the brain is where the heart lives”.

Here is to a positive and productive 2016.

Aeternum Fortis,
Liz