{"id":106047,"date":"2025-07-06T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bellarinetimes\/?p=106047"},"modified":"2025-07-04T15:21:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T05:21:18","slug":"driving-hope-hits-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bellarinetimes\/news\/driving-hope-hits-the-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Driving Hope hits the road"},"content":{"rendered":"

WOMEN in Trucking Australia (WiTA) is encouraging the trucking community to climb on board as it partners with River’s Gift to shine a light on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS.)<\/p>\n

As part of the partnership, truck drivers can purchase a Hope the Elephant Plush toy from River’s Gift and place her front and centre on their dashboards.<\/p>\n

River’s Gift was founded by Karl Waddell and Alex Hamilton after losing their son River at 128 days old. Now, their SIDS-focused charity supports bereaved families, educates and funds research into the causes of SIDS.<\/p>\n

WiTA chief executive officer Lyndall Denny said as a parent, River’s Gift and the organisation’s work struck a chord.<\/p>\n

“As a mum of two and grandmother to six-month-old Daisy, the thought of losing a child to SIDS was excruciating.<\/p>\n

“River’s Gift’s focus on preventing and eliminating SIDS is remarkable and the board quickly recognised the organisation as an important charitable cause for WiTA to support and align with.”<\/p>\n

\"\"
Women in Trucking Australia partnered with River’s Gift aiming to raise $40,000 through Hope the Elephant. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Through the campaign, WiTA hopes to raise $40,000 for the local organisation while truck drivers help their journey and spread the story around Australia.<\/p>\n

Geelong-based TGR Transport started the campaign, donating $500 and purchasing five of the plush toys for the cause.<\/p>\n

Mr Waddell said whether people are in cities, regional, or rural areas, SIDS does not discriminate.<\/p>\n

“Linking arms with an organisation that has a presence and impact right across every corner of Australia is so important to us.<\/p>\n

“This partnership with WiTA helps us reach so many Australian communities and families.<\/p>\n

“Research and education are key to finally stamping out SIDS, and we look forward to seeing the ripple effect of this partnership spread across the country.”<\/p>\n

The Driving Hope Campaign will run until November 7, the anniversary of River’s death.<\/p>\n

For more information or to get involved, head to riversgift.org<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WOMEN in Trucking Australia (WiTA) is encouraging the trucking community to climb on board as it partners with River’s Gift to shine a light on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS.) As part of the partnership, truck drivers can purchase a Hope the Elephant Plush toy from River’s Gift and place her front and centre on […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":220,"featured_media":106054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-106047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDriving Hope hits the road - Bellarine Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WiTA joins River\u2019s Gift for the Driving Hope campaign, raising funds and SIDS awareness with truckers nationwide until November 7.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bellarinetimes\/news\/driving-hope-hits-the-road\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Driving Hope hits the road - 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