In 2024, the Year 9 cohort at Hammond Park Secondary College faced the heartbreaking loss of their friend, classmate, and a truly special young person, 13-year-old, Leon, who passed away after a courageous battle with cancer.
A year on his friends, now in year 10, honoured his memory by organising a 24-Hour Marathon with the aim of raising $10,000 for children’s cancer research – an initiative chosen by Leon’s mum.
The students came together and inspired not only the whole school but their entire community. Local childcare centres and businesses got on board, helping the teens exceed their target and raise an outstanding $12,910.
Children’s Cancer Foundation CEO, Margaret Fitzherbert, was invited to attend a whole-school awards assembly to meet with Leon’s teachers and friends and accept the donation from the school.
It was great to visit, see where all the magic happened and meet some of the incredible people involved.
We’ve been in regular contact with the school since the fundraiser and worked with the teachers and students on where best to invest the funds. We shared details about research projects the Foundation is driving and then collectively the students decided that all funds would go toward the Children’s Cancer Model Atlas (CCMA) research project.
The CCMA, which is part of the Children’s Cancer CoLab’s Next-Generation Therapies Impact Program, is located in Melbourne at Hudson Institute’s Centre for Cancer Research and houses the world’s largest collection of paediatric cancer cell lines and AI-powered analytics to drive innovative research. It provides a unique, open-source facility to cancer researchers globally, and is available to every paediatric oncologist and childhood cancer researcher.
A representative from Hammond Park Secondary College believes the CCMA is an important resource to drive change.
I think the students were quite touched that the collection holds an osteosarcoma, the type of cancer Leon had.
They felt like it would make a difference for Leon and his family knowing the contribution was assisting research towards a cure.
More than just an event, the fundraiser was a powerful statement from a group of determined young people who want the world to know they have not forgotten Leon. They carry his memory with them every day and are deeply committed to making a meaningful difference for other children and families affected by cancer. 🎗️
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