AFTER years of hosting a Biggest Morning Tea, real estate agent, Phil Murray from Bevans Corrimal, decided it was time to swap the dainty tea sets, cupcakes and sandwiches for a ‘Do It For Cancer’ fundraiser that was uniquely his own.
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He considered a BBQ, a trivia night or a dinner but it wasn’t until he was taking his regular morning swim at Towradgi ocean pool that he had his stroke of brilliance.
An ocean pool crawl taking in seven of the Illawarra’s most beautiful coastal pools and ending up at his favourite pub.
It would be an event that was different, fun, healthy and 100 percent Phil Murray.
“We had a lot of success with our Biggest Morning Tea, one year even raising $25,000 but I was burnt out”, Phil said.
“I was still really passionate about raising money to help local people affected by cancer though so when I heard about ‘Do It For Cancer’ I knew I wanted to have a rest from the morning tea style event and come up with something new.”
Cancer Council NSW Community Engagement Manager, Terry Deegan, explained that the ‘Do It For Cancer’ fundraising initiative evolved from people wanting choice.
“When you have been personally touched by cancer in some way it is a really natural feeling to want to do something to beat the disease, which is why we developed ‘Do It For Cancer,” Terry said.
“It can be as simple as asking for donations instead of birthday presents or as extravagant as a ball for 200 people.
The most important thing is that you create an event based on what you are passionate about and to a scale that you feel comfortable with.
Best of all, with ‘Do It For Cancer’ you decide where your money goes – you can opt for a specific research project to help defeat a particular cancer type or you can choose to support cancer patients generally with information and support services.”
Now in its eleventh year the Great Ocean Pool Crawl is still going strong with swimmers decking themselves out in crazy outfits, hopping on a bendy bus and swimming two laps of every ocean pool between Coalcliff and Towradgri in Wollongong’s Northern suburbs.
In that time the event has raised over $150,000 for local cancer support services and Phil still enjoys organising it every year because of the people he meets and how much fun he has on the day.
If you would like to help in the fight against cancer, simply go to www.doitforcancer.com.au or call the Southern Region Office of Cancer Council NSW on 4223 0200.
All it takes is a good idea, a group of friends and the desire to make a difference.
