MOUNT Gambier eight year old Brodie has inspired a community and raised $8600 for country homelessness in the process after completing an acTIVE.care running challenge in January.
Brodie pledged to run throughout January while fundraising to support ac.care's homelessness and emergency relief services with his initial $200 target soon snowballing into the thousands as community support ballooned.
The significance of the achievement has likely not yet dawned on the energetic Brodie, who took on the challenge after being captivated by inspirational runner Nedd Brockmann, best known for running almost 4000kms across Australia over 46.5 days in 2022, raising $2m for homelessness in the process.
Brodie covered around 65km throughout the month, including a 10km run on the penultimate day of his challenge, and was joined by family, friends and supporters as he hit the pavement.
Community support continued to grow as more people followed along with Brodie's efforts, including Nedd himself.
ac.care's Mount Gambier Community Centre served as the finish line for Brodie's final run on January 31 where his achievement was acknowledged by the staff and he received a small giftbag, which included vouchers donated by Intersport Mount Gambier and Kaboom Family Entertainment.
Among those to greet Brodie at the custom-made finish line arch was ac.care Limestone Coast homelessness service manager Kelly McGuinness.
“Brodie visited us late last year at the Mount Gambier Community Centre and shared his desire to help people facing hardship locally," Kelly explained.
“From that conversation, Brodie launched his acTIVE.care fundraiser and we watched on in awe as he quickly surpassed the original goal of $200 and that figure climbed into the thousands.
“We are grateful for Brodie’s inspiring effort and for the generosity of our community that shared his amazing journey.
“Thank you to everyone who contributed through donations or raising awareness of Brodie’s campaign, which has shown the collective impact communities can have to support local people facing hardship.
“We look forward to inviting Brodie back to ac.care in the future to show how he, with the generous support of the community, has made a difference.”
Visit www.accare.org.au/activecare/ to learn more about how you can set a personal challenge and support ac.care along the way.
You can walk, run, ride, read, paint, sing or come up with a unique challenge of your own. Every donation helps our mission of ensuring all country people have a safe home, enough money to live on and strong, positive relationships.
