Motivated girls fundraise in memory of loved ones

Over $3000 was raised by 14- year-old Jessie, 13-year-old Kaycee, and nine-year-old Jakirah over a few years, with plenty of COVID-19 interruptions in between. In 2016, Jessie lost her pop Ramsey to a short battle with cancer.

Jessie was always there to cheer him up on bad days, and the many hours spent at Gilgandra MPS meant she experienced first hand the “amazing support” given to her Pop.

“The impact of his loss motivated Jessie from an early age to keep his memory alive, and bring awareness to cancer,” said Lesley McKenzie.

After a series of tragic deaths in the family from cardiac arrests and cancer, Jessie asked her cousin Kaycee and niece Jakirah to jump on board and together raise funds and awareness.

They were “Doing it for cancer”, and “doing it for heart”. The girls held plenty of 100 clubs, raffles, and spent hours sitting outside IGA fundraising, and just before a biggest morning tea event was set to go ahead, Jessie’s father Wenden suffered a complete cardiac arrest.

The staff at Gilgandra MPS were able to save his life, which in-turn motivated the girls even further to recognise the hard work and dedication of the doctors and nurses in Gilgandra.

“Once again they were shown incredible compassion and support to their family,” said Ms McKenzie.

The girls decided to still go ahead with the event, as well as dedicate a whole month to fundraising, and have now been able to purchase what will be a well-loved chair. Gilgandra MPS are extremely grateful for the girls’ efforts, especially seeing such young people be so dedicated to the cause.

The trio have plans to continue fundraising for another item, and are extremely appreciative of the community’s support throughout the process.