Raising Fun. Raising Funds for Myeloma Research.
Communities are built on shared experiences, usually bound together by local champions. Geoff Nyssen, a Snowdome volunteer, is one such champion (pictured above, left). Wanting to nurture his own community to be happy, generous and resilient, he began the MY Mount Eliza Run & Fun Festival in 2017 that sees 1,000 people join in each year.
An extraordinary gift to his community, but more extraordinarily it was the diagnosis of the incurable blood cancer – multiple myeloma at the age of 40, that was the catalyst for the event.
MY Mount Eliza Festival not only serves the community, it also brings connection to those impacted by multiple myeloma whilst raising significant funds for Snowdome to directly fund research into myeloma – $320,000 to date.
Multiple myeloma is a rare cancer, accounting for just 1% of cases of cancer each year. It was rarer again for Geoff to be diagnosed at such a young age, with the median age of onset being 70 years.
Currently there is no cure for myeloma, but with the emergence of new targeted therapies, the survival rate is increasing. The funds raised at this year’s MY Mount Eliza Festival will be directed to a project looking at advancing the innovative CAR T Cell therapy, where the DNA of patient stem cells is reprogrammed to better identify and eliminate cancer cells, giving those affected the best opportunity for a longer life, and one day, a cure.
Don’t miss out on a guaranteed great day out – register today for a 4km, 8km or 12km run or the 4km All Paws Walk. With family-friendly amusements, activities and challenges, live stage music, food and drinks, prizes and giveaways and a silent auction, it is the perfect way to spend an autumn day on the Mornington Peninsula.
Sunday 19th March
Mount Eliza Regional Park on Two Bays Road