By Lachlan Ellis<\/p>\n
It was as pleasant a day as it could\u2019ve been to plunge into some icy water in the middle of winter, when fourteen locals made the plunge on Saturday, and in doing so, helped raise around $60,000 for FightMND.<\/p>\n
Though the sunshine wouldn\u2019t have dulled the shock of landing in the freezing pool, this year\u2019s sliders at the Big Freeze in the Marsh no doubt got a warm, fuzzy feeling from being a part of the big day.<\/p>\n
Close to $45,000 has been raised on the Big Freeze in the Marsh\u2019s page, with beanie sales estimated at around $15,000 on the day, putting the total amount close to a whopping $60,000, though the tally is still being counted at the time of writing.<\/p>\n
The sun was shining at Maddingley Park as the sliders went one after another following Bacchus Marsh\u2019s match against Melton South, with the costumes ranging from Dame Edna, to the Little Mermaid, and Cobras President Ian \u2018Macca\u2019 McClure sliding down as Ronald McDonald.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of people flocked to the FightMND slide near the cricket nets to watch, with plenty of second-hand splashes hitting those who got too close.
\nMr McClure said it was incredible to see the level of support the community had shown for the event, and the fight against motor neurone disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter how cold that water is, it\u2019s well worth it to support the cause. In three years of doing this, we\u2019ve raised nearly $200,000 towards fighting MND. The drive and the passion from Anne Phyland has been incredible,\u201d he told the Moorabool News.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing, I\u2019m so proud of our community and what they\u2019ve given.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s event was the first without Greendale\u2019s Phil O\u2019Keefe, who was the local face of the fight against MND, battling hard against the beast from his diagnosis in 2015 until sadly passing away on May 25 this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhil was a very courageous man. To battle something like MND for eight years, and maintain his dignity, is amazing. Thanks for backing this event has to go out to the community, to Melton South for getting involved, and a special thanks to the Greendale community for not only this year\u2019s support, but their ongoing support,\u201d Mr McClure said.<\/p>\n
Mr O\u2019Keefe\u2019s friends Neal Morgan and Nick Myrianthis paid tribute to their mate before taking the plunge.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had the last laugh on us and got us to do this. The last thing he asked us was to go down the slide into this pool of ice. Go mate, we\u2019re doing it,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
Donations are still open online, so if you\u2019d like to donate and help fight MND, visit bit.ly\/BigFreeze2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Lachlan Ellis It was as pleasant a day as it could\u2019ve been to plunge into some icy water in the middle of winter, when fourteen locals made the plunge on Saturday, and in doing so, helped raise around $60,000 for FightMND. Though the sunshine wouldn\u2019t have dulled the shock of landing in the freezing […]<\/p>\n