A bit about me
My name is James John. I’m a 25 year old South Australian native, being lucky enough to grow up just up river of a town called Paringa on the River Murray.
I was lucky enough to have had an amazing childhood growing up in the country. I ended up at boarding school at Westminster School in Adelaide for most of secondary school before moving to the Gold Coast to study Law and Business at Bond University. Upon completing my studies at Bond, I moved up the road to Brisbane and have been working as a solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills (a law firm) for most of the past three years.
Through both work and study I have been fortunate enough to have been involved in a number of charitable and pro bono causes and organisations.
The ride
I am riding my motorbike 18,000kms around mainland Australia(plus our good friends in Tassie) to raise funds, awareness and support for the battle against child cancer. My goal is to raise $100,00o for the battle against child cancer, with a fundraising target of $50,000 (Stream 1 below) matched by my personal contribution of $50,000 (Stream 2). In our journey together to reach $100,000, your dollar doubles as I personally match each donation dollar for dollar with my personal contribution of $50,000 until we reach the $100,000 goal!
Together, I hope we can smash the $100,000 barrier and help support kids throughout Australia in their battle against cancer.
The (hopefully $100,000, perhaps more!) will be split into two different streams.
Stream 1 - Donation to the Children's Cancer Foundation
So, where does your money go? 100% of all donations received through my fundraising page with the Foundation will be directed to the Children's Cancer Foundation to fund cutting edge research - specifically targeting gentler treatments for child cancer.
The Foundation have been fantastic in supporting my desire that 100% of any funds received reach their intended destination, and that no admin costs are to be incurred in the setting up and deployment of the fund's balance. The unique specially created funds that the Foundation are able to establish achieve this goal.
As a result, you will see exactly where your donation is being directed and see the potential for your money to fund research realised, not only for the benefit of children in Australia, but potentially children all over the world.
Stream 2 - Tangible gifts
The second stream is a donation of $50,000 (my personal matching amount) worth of tangible gifts to cancer wards/care centres (picture toys/entertainment/any much needed equipment). This stream will target the quality of life within child cancer wards, helping to cheer kids up and hopefully making what is a terribly challenging time a little bit more bearable. A big learning curve for me has been discovering that hospitals receive many "unwanted" gifts. I will collaborate with hospitals all around the country to target critical needs and ensure our pledge makes a big difference.
The background
My father Paul passed away on 17 May 2015 at the age of 54. He suffered from Duodenal Cancer, a rare small intestinal cancer.
Dad was an incredible guy. One of the things he often said, and which has stuck with me, is that he was lucky to watch his kids grow up (I have two brothers) and complete school, attend university, and chase their careers. He was confident that we would be OK and that was very important to him.
In his view, and certainly mine, cancer in children is a darker tragedy. Kids who may face an uphill battle to grow up and have families of their own, and parents who experience the pain of watching their child suffer. When my father passed, a friend of his, Steven, wrote an amazing letter to my family. In this letter, Steven retold many stories of growing up with my Dad. In one of these stories, Steven shared how he and Dad had planned to ride around Australia on their motorbikes when they were younger, and how he planned to lobby Dad to do this when he got better.
Dad never got better, but reading this letter planted the seed for this idea and I will be doing this ride in Dad’s memory. I have always believed that if you have the capacity and means to help others, you should.
Mission
I hope that riding around Australia, stopping in at many cities, towns, pubs, and wherever else, can help raise awareness and encourage those in different communities to give back and support those in need. What I really hope to do is encourage dialogue between people about the needs of others all across Australia, particularly ill children, and give people another avenue to donate and support others.
Timing
After Dad passed, I have been reevaluating my priorities and decided it is time for me to take a break from law and try and make a difference in memory of my Dad. I resigned from my job at HSF (the firm was luckily very supportive!) to come back to South Australia, spend some time with my Mum, and put this idea into motion. I plan to leave on my ride in early March.
What I need your help with!
My goal is to generate $50,000+ of donations to the Foundation from corporates and the public (that's you!). You can hit the donate button on the main page, or click here. 100% of your donation will be put to use!
Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss opportunities for your organisation or workplace to get on board.
I'm looking forward to this journey, and hope that you can join me on it to help battle child cancer.
