Trek4kidz left Port Macquarie on Sunday, August 19 to travel more than 2600 kilometres on this year’s trek, and one of their first ports of call was Tenterfield.
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The 21 cars and 11 official cars making up the Great Northern Trek had a stopover at the The Sir Henry Parkes Great Western and Tenterfield Motor Inn on Monday night, before enjoying breakfast at the Motor Inn put on by the Tenterfield Lions Club.
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The trek then headed on to Toowoomba, Moree and Dubbo before finishing its journey in Goulburn on August 25.
Trek4Kidz is an annual week-long event travelling through regional NSW and Queensland, while raising much needed funds for Starlight Children’s Foundation.
“Each year we look forward to the event; we love getting out into the community, meeting new families who share in our positivity and the trek is a great way to generate community spirit,” Trek4kidz media officer Michelle McDonald said.
“As a result of the current economic climate. Fundraising is becoming increasingly challenging, sadly the numbers of sick kids will not decline so that’s why we are proud to support Starlight.
“We never tire of visiting the local communities and contributing to this worthwhile cause – the generosity of people is pretty amazing.”
The tour will fundraise for Starlight, who aim to brightens the lives of seriously ill children and their families, through hospital services such as Captain Starlight and the Starlight Express Room.
Captain Starlights work within Starlight Express Rooms to provide a treatment-free respite for sick kids and their families in all major children’s hospitals nationally.
“We keep coming back to support Starlight because we’ve experienced firsthand the impact Starlight has on sick kids and their families; it makes the trek worthwhile,” Mrs McDonald said.
“We are thankful for the contribution of the Lions Clubs in all the towns we visit. Their ongoing support is invaluable to us.”
Since the Trek began two decades ago, the tour has raised nearly $2 million for Starlight, which has given over 25,500 seriously ill children and their families’ access to the Captain Starlight and Starlight Express Room programs across the state.
Starlight receives no government funding and relies entirely on the community for its support.
“Every minute of every day a child is admitted to hospital in Australia, and Starlight is there to help them play, laugh and simply be kids again,” Starlight CEO Louise Baxter said.
“We wouldn’t be able to do this without community events like Trek4kidz, and for their ongoing support we cannot thank them enough.”