When I saw your post on Facebook in January I was inspired to tackle the physical challenge of the walk, which at that time was way beyond my level of fitness. Our team is a collaboration of friends tied together by our love of the outdoors. We have walked together on numerous tracks across Tasmania over the years and our name arises from a meeting with a track worker Bruce on the South Coast Track. We had many training walks together along with our other walking friends, many of us who are health professionals who have seen first hand the impact of stroke on individuals and the community. Steve stepped into the team at the last minute when Fiona unavoidably had to work on that morning. A special thanks to Fiona who drove to Fortescue Bay and walked into Canoe Bay to walk the last leg of the walk as part of the team. As a team we enjoyed the day and the opportunity to raise money for such a worthy cause as the Stroke Foundation. The organisation of Tasmanian Iconic Walks was second to none and enabled us to leave the logistics to them and just focus on the day, with the Pennicott’s Cruise at the end a fitting finale. We look forward to participating in future events.
Toni’s Story
On a personal note I would like to thank my mother DeAnn Robinson who became my training partner and Fundraising Manager. Whoever we met she would share what we were up to which resulted in a lot of extra donations. I posted photos of our morning walks on Facebook and a lot of our donations came from friends that way. I work at Women’s Imaging who were also very supportive of our efforts. I held a morning tea at work, catered for by mum, which also raised a lot of funds. My boss Lynne Brothers also offered to match my fundraising total which resulted in a very generous donation.
Steve’s Story
I was grateful to have a spot on the team. It was an inspiring walk for such an important cause. My Mum recently had a stroke and is now recovering well. She is back to enjoying activities such as painting, and much of this is due to the early diagnosis, treatment and assistance after her hospital stay.
Sarah’s Story
Whilst fundraising I came across people with personal stories and experiences of having had someone close either die from a stroke or been affected by a stroke. Participating in this day and reflecting on the reason why we were fundraising has been a positive and motivates me to continue walking in Tasmania, a place with the best walking, scenery and most generous of people.