General News
2 December, 2021
Energy Breakthrough raises much-needed funds
TERANG College’s Energy Breakthrough students have smashed their fundraising goal, raising $1500 for The Royal Children’s Hospital.
TERANG College’s Energy Breakthrough students have smashed their fundraising goal, raising $1500 for The Royal Children’s Hospital.
The cohort of Energy Breakthrough team members descended on Cobden’s South West Kart Club last Friday in hopes of raising $1000 in support of fellow Terang College student Gemma Blain.
The Royal Children’s Hospital holds a special place in the heart of 16-year old Gemma, who relied on the hospital’s vital services and support while fighting Osteosarcoma, a form of cancer which starts in the bones, which included 29 gruelling weeks of chemotherapy.
The Energy Breakthrough students braved a cold and wet start to the day, taking turns to put in stints in the team’s three trikes to see how far they could travel.
In total, the students raced for 10 hours for a massive distance of 599kms.
With sponsors pledging a set amount for each kilometre raced, the team raised $1078 for their efforts. With additional one-off donations offered, the total nudges $1500 raised for the hospital.
Terang College Energy Breakthrough team manager Ben Dennis said he was proud of the team’s efforts after COVID-19 restrictions had limited the amount of training the team could undertake prior to the event.
“It was a great, surprising day,” he said.
“We still managed to have new ways to have a trike break so even 10 years in to the program we’re still learning new things.
“The kids did an amazing job considering the lack of training and opportunity to get some experience in a trike, so it was a pretty big day for the kids but they did such a good job.”
Mr Dennis said helping to raise funds for a charity which means so much to Gemma and the school community was a point of pride for the students.
“For a lot of the kids they were not sure if we could raise that much because we had a target of about 500km, so getting almost 600km with a couple of breakdowns which took time to fix was great for them to go as well as they did.”
This weekend will mark a special milestone for Terang College’s Energy Breakthrough team, with a 10-year reunion planned.
“Our 10-year reunion will be this Saturday night at the Terang College hall from 5pm,” Mr Dennis said.
“We’re really keen to see a lot of people who have been involved in our journey, to come along and share their stories from over the years.
“It’s funny looking at the photos now. All the stories and memories come flooding back ready for the night.
“It’s so easy to forget all the great times, the funny things which have happened and the struggles we’ve had along the way.
“It would be great to catch up with some of those families and students we haven’t seen in a while.”
