Kookaburra Jake Whetton has taken on a different sort of challenge from his everyday training to be an Olympic star. He is preparing to tackle the City2Surf 21km half marathon in Perth next weekend in aid of children’s charity Variety.
Explaining his motivation, Whetton says, “I have always wanted to do a triathlon but to be 100% honest I don’t think I could swim 2km to save myself. So, I thought, ‘how about a marathon, or start with a half marathon and go from there?’
“Whilst looking into the run I found out that you could also help fund raise for a charity of choice. I chose the Variety Children's Charity to raise funds and awareness for the daughter of former Kookaburra Nathan Eglington and his wife Lisa. Their little girl Stella has been diagnosed with incredibly rare Pentasomy X Syndrome. I am very blessed to be a part of Stella's life and to be great friends with the Eglingtons. Hopefully this can help out a family in need in a little way in the future.”
Variety - the Children’s Charity is a national not-for-profit organisation committed to empowering Australian children who are sick, disadvantaged or have special needs to live, laugh & learn. By giving practical equipment, programs & experiences, Variety helps children in need to overcome whatever obstacles they face & live life to the fullest.
Whetty’s ‘Hero Meter’ already shows tremendous success in his fundraising effort, having now raised more than $1300 for the charity. And with just over a week to go he’s hoping to go even further to support more children like Stella.
If you’d like to know more about his challenge or make a donation please visit Jake’s fundraising page here.
Good luck Whetty!
>> To find out more about Whetty’s City2Surf challenge, visit his fundraising page here.
>> To find out more about Variety and the work it does, visit the charity’s website here.
>> To discover more about Pentasomy X Syndrome click here (third party support group website).
Hockey Australia media release
