The Big Three Trek
Last June, I held a Beanie for Brain Cancer Day at St. Joseph’s with the amazingly strong Hannah Flagg, to help raise money for The Mark Hughes Foundation. That same day, my older brother, Jason Ferrario, embarked on the amazing journey of walking 150km over 3 days on The Big Three Trek and we were able to sponsor him a whopping $750 from our Beanie Day.
The Mark Hughes Foundation raises millions of dollars for brain cancer research and funds Brain Cancer Care nurses in regional Australia. “Beanie for Brain Cancer” was born in 2014 as a lot of brain cancer patients wear beanies to cover scars, bandages, loss of hair and just to keep warm and every year, The Mark Hughes Foundation releases and sells new beanies to help raise this much needed money.
Brain cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in children, and adults aged under 40 in Australia, yet alarmingly very little is known about brain cancer, its causes or how it is treated.
In 2009, my eldest brother Rick Keast died from Brain Cancer. Rick was a Dad of 4, with Jack his youngest son, not born until 6 weeks after he died. Jack was school captain at St. Joseph’s in 2021 and Jack and I held a Beanie Day together when he was in Year 6. Rick was very well known in the Junee and Wagga communities and not only played rugby league for Group 9 but he was also the head Development Officer for Country Rugby League, teaching children to love the game as much as he did.
Along with selling new beanies every year, The Mark Hughes Foundation holds many events and one is a walk called The Big Three Trek. Last year, my daughters, Maddison and Dakota, and I, surprised Jason, travelling from Junee to walk the last 5km of the trek with him, wearing our MHF Beanie for Brain Cancer beanies, with Rick’s initials, just like the one we had presented Jason with before he set off for the trek.
From that moment on, I knew I wasn’t missing out on this amazing opportunity. I have been training since January and I am stepping completely out of my comfort zone to join Jason on The Big Three Trek to help raise awareness and funds for The Mark Hughes Foundation.
From June 25-27, I will be walking with Jason and the other 65 trekkers, 150km from the Sydney Cricket Ground to Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium, into this year's NRL Beanie for Brain Cancer game between the Newcastle Knights and the Canberra Raiders in honour of our brother Rick.
Before I go, St. Joseph’s is going to hold another Beanie for Brain Cancer Day on Friday June 20. The support I have received from the students and staff is SO encouraging and I can’t wait for us all to wear our beanies, enjoy a BBQ lunch and raise funds to sponsor our journey. More information about Beanie Day will be sent out via Compass in the coming days.
For those who would like to further donate to our trek, I have included a link below that will take you to our fundraising page.
https://bigthreetrek5.gofundraise.com.au/page/JasonKyle-46226432
Along with us, this year, another fabulous family from Junee is joining the trek in honour of their son, brother and nephew Zac. Michael and Rhys Diggins and Lisa Harris, will be walking with us and we have put together a raffle to help us raise funds and there are over $20,000 in prizes to be won. Below is a link if you would like to purchase tickets for your chance to win.
https://rafflelink.com.au/bigthree
Every single donation, no matter how small, means the world to us.
Thank you in advance, Kylee Huard
