Fifth fundraiser for Sanfilippo support

EVERY August for almost half a decade, an initiative aimed at raising funds and awareness around a debilitating form of dementia for children gets people walking and talking in Ballarat and elsewhere.

The fifth Steps for Skye fundraiser returned yesterday, challenging participants to walk 15,000 steps each day throughout the month, with all cash going towards Sanfilippo Children’s Foundation.

For the past decade, campaign co-founder Teghan Henderson has been a carer for its namesake, 14-year-old Ballarat local Skye Robson who was diagnosed with Sanfilippo around the same time.

She said the initiative has steadily grown over the years.

“The very first one had 12 people and it varies now between 20 and 40 in the last couple years,” she said.

“This year we’ve got just over 30 but there’s still people signing up.

“People can participate from anywhere and we usually have people doing it from all over Australia. Skye’s mum’s actually going to be in Thailand and she’ll be getting some steps in there.”

The Steps for Skye campaign has raised more than $100,000 for the Sanfilippo Children’s Foundation since its inception, and Ms Henderson said it’s incredible to reach the milestone.

“The money we raise probably won’t benefit Skye as such but definitely kids in the future that do get diagnosed with Sanfilippo, it’ll hopefully put them into clinical trials to extend their lives,” she said.

“We’re thinking to mark five years of doing a big walk at Lake Wendouree on the 31st which is a Saturday and to get everyone involved and Skye coming along.

“My biggest thing is just raising awareness for Sanfilippo. There’s always so many people that go ‘I’ve actually never heard of that’ and when it comes to Steps for Skye, that’s when people are finding out about it.”

The Steps for Skye campaign page can be found at bit.ly/3WHCU4H.