Kristen Bartlett, with Ashleigh Armour, at the Gundagai Services Club fundraiser, where donations pushed her target over $23,000. Photo: Marguerite McKinnon.
When Gundagai local Kristen Bartlett decided to raise money to help find a cure for brain cancer, she set herself an ambitious goal: walk 15 kilometres a day throughout June and raise $12,500.
At Saturday night’s final fundraiser at Gundagai Services Club, locals young and old cheered as Kristen revealed she had raised $19,630. By the end of the night, raffle ticket sales had pushed the total to $23,283 — almost double her original target.
Throughout June and into July, Kristen’s daily social media updates inspired sporting clubs, businesses, schools and individuals in Gundagai and beyond to dig deep in support of brain cancer research.
Brain cancer kills more Australian children, and claims more lives of people under 40, than any other cancer.
Saturday night’s raffle featured a fairy-light-festooned trestle table loaded with prizes, including vouchers for fuel, firewood, groceries and garden care, meat trays, half-dressed lambs, a $300 voucher from Gundagai Golf Club, meals at Tian Restaurant, The Criterion and Lotts Family Hotel, along with beauty and hardware gift packs and hand-painted artwork by local Bill Leigh.
During her challenge, Kristen walked 524 kilometres — an average of 17 km a day — while battling painful back and leg spasms.
“It just tugs at my heartstrings that I guess you never know how lucky we are. There’s been families in Gundagai that had to go through this heartache. I can’t imagine what they’ve been through,” she said.
“From that one dollar in that tin to the thousands donated, with all that money, I’m hoping that one day no family, no child, no adult has to have this heartache.
“If the doctor says, ‘Yes, you have brain cancer’ [we want the answer to not be] ‘go home, there’s nothing we can do’, [but rather hear the doctor say,] ‘Yes, we finally have a cure.”
Gundagai local Anthea Cooper said the result reflected the town’s generosity.
“It’s just incredible. Gundagai’s a good place to live, and Kristen’s done a very good job,” she said.
Kristen’s former Gundagai Primary School teacher, Lynne French, was among those buying raffle tickets.
“I taught Kristen, so she’s dear to my heart. Just the way the community’s pulled together to support her is amazing,” she said.
“Everywhere you go, they’ve talked about Beanies for Brain Cancer. It’s great.”
Husband and wife John and Terri Craig were also impressed by the community response.
“I’m not surprised. They’re all pretty good ’round here,” John said.
Terri said Kristen’s efforts had inspired the town.
“I think it’s fabulous,” she said. ”I know Ash’s done a fabulous job to get this up and running and I think it’s great for the community to get behind it and support Kristen as she’s done a fabulous job.”
The driving force behind Kristen’s fundraising was Bethany Tout, the former St Patrick’s Primary School student who died from brain cancer in 2001 at the age of 10.
St Patrick’s created a permanent circular memorial, Bethany’s Place, where children sit and play beside a picture of Bethany smiling in her school uniform before she became sick.
This week, Bethany would have celebrated her 36th birthday.
Bethany’s father, Wagga Mayor Dallas Tout, sent Kristen a message thanking her for keeping his daughter’s memory alive.
“This is so amazing. One of the things that worried (Bethany) was that she would be forgotten. She would be so happy that 26 years later, people have never forgotten her and that she is helping others in the fight against brain cancer,” he wrote.
Despite the praise she received throughout the campaign, Kristen said the real heroes were the people who donated money, raffle prizes and their time to help take another step towards finding a cure for brain cancer.
