As Nancy Sinatra once sang: ‘These boots are made for walking’ … and that’s just what their’s will do, this Burnside Heights mother-daughter combo reckon.
Kristy and Lucia Stojcevski are taking part in the Stepathon challenge to raise money for the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, with the national campaign urging participants to walk 100,000 steps between March 6-12.
Ms Stojcevski, a research assistant at the Institute, is taking part in the challenge for the first time.
“I thought it was time to get involved, and with Lucia going into prep, hopefully she can share it with her friends and spread the message,” Ms Stojcevski said.
“I want to make people aware of how lucky we are, and that not all children are so lucky.”
Ms Stojcevski has been working in the field of infecction and immunity theme for the past 13 years, and has seen first-hand the impact that fundraisers like the Stepathon have on medical advancements.
“It makes such a huge difference,” she said.
“We’ve done lots of work on group A streptococcus, and we have cases at the Royal Children’s who suffer from this … we don’t really know why the infection becomes serious in some patients . We want to change that.
“Donations contribute a substantial amount to our funding, and it’s getting harder and harder to get government funding.”
She said 100,000 steps in a week would be a challenge for both herself and her daughter, but she is looking forward to it.
“I don’t usually count steps, but I might start paying more attention to it now,” she said.
“It’s good for Lucia to learn about a healthy lifestyle early, and hopefully she can get some school friends, maybe the school, involved as well.”
The Stepathon began in 2013, and has raised over $2 million for the Institute since.
The first 5000 children to register will receive a free pedometer. Otherwise, track progress by downloading the fitness app onto smartphones. Details: www.stepathon.com.au or bit.ly/2kUTevl
