As 84,000 spectators filled the seats of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on the King’s Birthday for the fight against motor neurone disease (MND), locals in Brimbank joined the mission.
It was a sea of blue, Fight MND beanies, for Neale Daniher’s Big Freeze at the ’G. Now in its 10th consecutive year, the organisation is hoping to raise more than $3 million this year to help fund research to find a cure against the ‘beast’.
It wasn’t just the celebrity sliders who dipped into the icy waters. At the Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre, the ‘Big Freeze at Brimbank’ event made a splash as staff from Distinctive Options, Good Shepherd, Community+, and Brimbank council also took the plunge.
Distinctive Options Brimbank service co-ordinator Jackson Hetherington said the event brought together the four tenant partners at the Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre for a “good cause”.
“We ended up raising roughly $800 to go towards the cause. Staff dressed up and took the plunge,” he said.
“We had roughly 50 to 60 people watching on, and about 15 staff members who took part in the slide.”
Mr Hetherington said Distinctive Options had previously hosted a similar event at its Sunbury service but this was the first time for Brimbank.
“We just moved into the centre within the past year and we thought it would be a great idea to collaborate and network to Fight MND together,” he said.
“It was really good to see everyone take some time out of their day to do something different, and work together to fundraise against the ‘beast’.”
Hannah Hammoud
