When Maribyrnong College teacher Aaron Hester lost his nine-year-old daughter Lily to cancer in 2014, he felt his whole world crumble.
Yet from his sense of helplessness and grief grew a burning desire to help other families faced with childhood cancer – and so the Life for Lily Foundation was born.
“In 2013, my daughter Lily was diagnosed with an extremely rare liver cancer and within 11 months we lost her,” he said.
“A year later we created the Life for Lily Foundation, after a period that seemed like a haze, to raise awareness of childhood cancer, which claims the lives of three Australian children every week.”
Mr Hester and a team of cyclists took off from the Children’s Cancer Institute in Sydney on Saturday on the Ride for Lily, eager to raise more than $200,000 for cancer research and treatment.
“Cancer treatments for children are very expensive,” Mr Hester said.
“We’re hoping to help more families through this.”
The riders are wending their way along the east coast of New South Wales before crossing the alpine high country on their way to the Victorian coast.
Their eight-day, 1300-kilometre journey will conclude at Princes Park in Carlton about 3pm this Saturday.
A Live for Lily week will be held at Maribyrnong College from April 18 to 21, culminating in a “casual pink day” when staff and students will wear pink, Lily’s favourite colour.
A Live for Lily Butterfly Ball will be held on June 30.
Details and donations: liveforlily.org.au
