Team Monica Hayes looks to Daniher’s Drive start line

PORTARLINGTON’S leading FightMND team will leave town next Thursday for a four-day regional road trip raising funds and awareness in the fight against Motor Neurone Disease.

Team Monica Hayes, featuring Portarlington residents Geoff Fary, Mick Doyle, Greg Hughes, and Darren Hellmann, will head off to the Essendon Football Club’s Tullamarine base next week, where it will begin this year’s Daniher’s Drive.

Mr Fary and his team will again undertake Daniher’s Drive in the old Subaru of Mr Fary’s late wife Monica, as the team has done since she passed away from MND in 2016.

The team will join a convoy of 60 other vehicles and 300 people from across the state and country for this year’s drive.

“We’re excited and raring to get off on the drive next week,” Mr Fary said.

“We will be holding a little working bee among the team members, putting the stickers and decals on the car, getting it fully ready for the road trip.

“We’re also approaching our $25,000 goal, so hopefully we can make a late charge to reaching that number. Off memory, we’re currently sitting at $17,000 raised so far this year.”

 

 

Daniher’s Drive 2023 will pass through regional towns such as Swan Hill, Shepparton, and Creswick, thanking regional communities for their contributions to the FightMND cause.

This year’s Daniher’s Drive has raised more than $860,000, less than $40,000 below the initiative’s total fundraising goal of $900,000.

Team Monica Hayes’ total monies raised presently places it 12th in this year’s team leaderboard.

Local Bellarine businessmen Jason Smith (Bellarine Smokehouse) and Russell Watson (The Bellarine Distillery) have also joined the drive for 2023, raising more than $7,723 of their own contributions.

“A number of people on the drive are generally, like me, touched by MND in one form or another,” Mr Fary said.

“There is a great collegiate sense of camaraderie on the drive that we’ve all been through the same experiences knowing what the awful ravages of the disease are.

“So we all get a great sense of satisfaction of knowing the work we’re doing is contributing not only to raising awareness, but also much needed funds for research.”

To help get Team Monica Hayes reach its fundraising goal, all four members are encouraging donors to enter into a raffle facilitated by FightMND for a chance to win a new 2023 Jayco Starcraft Bushpack Caravan valued at $63,790.

To enter, click HERE for a chance to win.

To donate to Team Monica Hayes directly, head to danihers.fightmnd.org.au/team-monica-hayes