By NICOLE WILLIAMS
THEY may be young but four Berwick friends have committed to raising money and awareness in honour of a friend battling leukaemia.
Sonya Moutzouris, Brooke Nankervis, Samantha Amos and Melissa de Leo all met during school at Berwick Secondary College and will be lighting blue lanterns at the Leukaemia Foundation’s Light the Night as part of Team Berwick.
Light the Night is the Leukaemia Foundation’s twilight walk where family and friends shine lanterns of hope to help create a brighter future for everyone with leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma.
Team captain Ms de Leo said despite the team members’ young age, being between 18 and 20 years, they were committed to raising funds and awareness.
“We’re all so young but we’re not too young to be doing this and were all in it together to raise awareness and shine a light on the event,” she said.
The members agree their friend’s diagnosis inspired them to help any way they could, even though they were still at school at the time.
“Still being in school, we didn’t know what to do in terms of getting involved,” Ms de Leo said.
“The cause is so close to home for us so it means a lot.
“It is about us showing that we’re not just there to help him but there for the cause as well.”
The friend supports their efforts but, due to treatment, has been unable to join in with fundraising and won’t be able to attend the event.
At their first Light the Night event Team Berwick is aiming to raise $500 for the Leukaemia Foundation’s research fund, to help find a cure for blood cancer.
In attempt to reach their goals, the team has contacted colleagues from work, friends from their school and local community members to generate donations and increase awareness for the Leukaemia Foundation’s Light the Night.
“We are looking for support from the Berwick community.
“We want to raise as much as we can for this special event,” said Ms de Leo.
“It is not only about donating money, but we want people to get involved and support the cause.”
As well as raising more than $500, the team hopes to entice at least another six people to get involved and support Team Berwick at the event on Wednesday 25 September.
Light the Night will be held from 5.30pm to 8.30pm at Alexandra Gardens, Melbourne.
To sponsor Team Berwick or to learn more about how you can be involved, call 1800 500 088 or visit www.lightthenight.org.au and search for Team Berwick.
