Unite for Hope participants have raised nearly $70,000 so far!

These vital funds help Pancare provide patient support services and fund research into early detection and new treatments. 

Our passionate community of supporters in Echuca, Mansfield and Sydney braved chilly mornings, muddy fields and howling winds to unite in hope and bring greater awareness, attention and change for upper GI cancers. 

The Purples, a group of doctors and nurses from Perth, chose to ‘Unite their Way’ and walked 100km in 2 days raising an incredible $21,335!  

This inspiring team was led by HPB consultant surgeon Dr Mandivavarira Maundura, with on the ground support from Dr Amanda Foster, who drove around Perth dropping essential drinks and snacks, providing encouragement, band-aids and funky tunes to keep the walkers going!  

Echuca and Mansfield events were led by our indefatigable community fundraisers Jada, Sarah and Jess and every little thing was thought of! Coffee carts, balloons, photographers and don’t forget the community vibe! They did a fantastic job of creating a memorable and smooth event for our regional Victorian’s and we are so grateful!

Buzzing from the high of two successful Victorian events, we were excited to be hosting our first major in-person event since the pandemic, Sydney did not disappoint! It was crisp but sunny and despite being incredibly muddy underfoot from weeks of rain, we had a fantastic time connecting with our Sydneysiders. 

Face painting was popular on arrival (important things first!) and the team taking donations and selling Unite for Hope t-shirts were doing a brisk trade. 

A welcome and thank you from Pancare and then our wonderful advocate Jenny McKie, Chief People Officer of Hungry Jack’s Australia spoke about her relationship with Pancare and the impact upper GI cancer has had on her and her family. 

Then it was time for the warm up, generously donated by the wonderful team N2 Dance Productions – everyone got into it, jumping and toe touching to upbeat tunes. The sun came out and the shivers vanished! 

After the 10km runners took off, staggered groups of 5km walkers followed, everyone taking the winding course route around the green parklands of Newington Armory. 

At the finish line the top fundraiser were revealed with ‘Friends of Hayley’ raising an incredible $4730, ‘Team Karen’s Tutus’ and the Woods Family very close behind. Let’s not forget our event partner Tangerine, who were kept busy chatting about the benefits of switching to Tangerine (they donate $125 to Pancare with every new signup) and handing out goodie bags as everyone crossed the finish line. 

Our events depend on our wonderful volunteers, put simply, they are the absolute backbone of our events and we couldn’t do it without them! Our volunteers in Sydney were an amazing support arriving early bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. They were still hustling when the crowd diminished, helping Pancare pack down after a truly wonderful day of connection and emotion! 

Unite for Hope is so much more than a fundraising event, it’s an opportunity for people impacted by upper GI cancers to come together and share their stories. Amazing friendships and support networks are formed and the Pancare team love meeting the people who relentlessly fight every day for greater awareness and understanding of these devastating cancers. 

Thank you to you all who contributed from the bottom of our purple hearts 💜