Good Friday Appeal gets boost from young fundraisers

TWO children from Mount Duneed are preparing to run 10km for the very first time in a bid to raise money for this year’s Good Friday Appeal.

Kobe and Judd Leach were inspired to start the fundraiser after watching last year’s appeal.

“We saw a little girl named Novalie and she was trying to raise money, but she was also a sick kid in the Royal Children’s Hospital,” 10-year-old Kobe said.

“We thought, we’ve got health and we are able to raise money, so why don’t we give it a go.”

Their mother Tash Leach said Kobe and Judd chose to run 10km to ensure they were undertaking a real challenge in the hope it would inspire people to donate to the cause.

To achieve their goal, Kobe and Judd have been running four times a week to build up the fitness they need.

Each week they practice running an additional kilometre.

This week, they ran their first 5km.

“Sometimes we [run] around our house, but we also like to do it along the beach at the Esplanade in Torquay,” 9-year-old Judd said.

While a location for the 10km run has not yet been chosen, Judd would like to have a beach view on the day.

Since beginning their fundraising efforts earlier this month, Kobe and Judd have raised more than $1,300 for the Royal Children’s Hospital, surpassing their initial goal of $500.

Kobe said the support they’d already received from the community had motivated her to keep going and she encouraged others to donate.

“It’s for a really good cause,” Kobe said.

“I can’t imagine how hard it would be lying in bed day after day.”

Judd said he was “grateful for everyone who’s donated” so far and was “so proud” of what he and his sister had already achieved.

Ms Leach said Kobe and Judd had come up with the idea to raise money for the Good Friday Appeal by themselves.

“We’ve talked a lot about how grateful we are that on the weekends we’re free to go to birthday parties and the beach and these poor children in hospital are missing out on getting to have a normal childhood,” she said.

“The fact that they’re willing to think of others ahead of themselves just makes me so proud of them every day.”

The Good Friday Appeal has been raising funds for The Royal Children’s Hospital since 1931 with donations supporting the hospital to purchase equipment, fund research, and provide ongoing education and training for its staff and family-centred care for its patients and their families.

This year, Good Friday falls on March 29.

To donate to Kobe and Judd’s fundraiser, head to gofundme.com/f/kobe-and-judds-10kms-for-the-good-friday-appeal