The generosity and dedication of our Community Fundraisers, and their supporters, will undoubtedly save lives from melanoma.

Col’s Ride for Melanoma

One man, three horses and 5330 km!
In 2020 Col Rathbone lost his wife Veronica (or Roni, as he calls her) to melanoma. The melanoma first appeared 11 years earlier under her toenail.
In honour of Roni, Col is riding The National Trail on horseback to raise funds to support Melanoma Institute Australia research. The National Trail, developed by R.M.Williams and the Australian Trail Horse Riders Association, is a challenging 5330 km route from Healesville in Victoria to Cooktown in far North Queensland. The trail links stock routes used by drovers, bush tracks, fire trails and roads and follows the Great Dividing Range.
At 76 Col has decided it’s time to do the ride, and his fundraising target is $53,300 – that’s $10 per kilometre. After a delayed start, due to having a stage I melanoma removed from his face, Col and his three horses –  Jess, Dee Jay and Fitzy – are now well on their way and are keen to meet up with supporters along the way.

Please follow Cols fund-raising trail ride on Facebook to keep up to date on how Col is going – or see more on Col’s fundraising page. What an Aussie legend!

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Flinders Ranges Trek

Over five testing days (22 Aug-28 Aug) an intrepid group of 11 trekkers, including our CEO Matthew Browne and Annette St Clair from MIA Amie St Clair Melanoma, took on the challenge of the Flinders Ranges Adventure to raise funds to expand Melanoma Institute Australia clinical trials. Total raised was $33,752.

The Daffodil Chef Dinner

Maryce Scriven hosted her 6th annual Daffodil Chef dinner on the 26th of August, at the Boatshed in South Perth. The annual event is in honour of Maryce’s husband Steven, who was a chef and loved good food, wine, and company. Sadly, Steven passed away from melanoma in 2014, aged only 32. For the past 6 years, Maryce has worked tirelessly to organise this incredible fundraiser for MIA in his memory, with a live auction, raffles, entertainment, games, and a beautiful three course dinner. This year she raised an incredible $18,500.

(Maryce is third from the right in this picture)

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Annmarie’s Quilt

Recently Annmarie’s much-loved mum passed away from melanoma. At the time, Annmarie was sewing a patchwork quilt, and her mum had helped to choose the  fabrics. Annmarie said as her mum became weaker, she would watch the progress from her hospital bed, which gave them something else to focus on during a traumatic time. Annmarie has now finished the quilt and has donated it to Melanoma Institute Australia in memory of her mum, as I way of giving back in a small way. Such a beautiful gesture, especially when dealing with something so difficult. We truly appreciate your support Annmarie, and we are thinking of you and your family during this time.

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Ang fighting the good fight against the big M

Ang held a soiree at her hair salon, Wyld Ginger, including drinks, food & entertainment, fundraising for MIA by shaving her head! Ang has had 6 melanomas removed & countless BCCs over the years, and wants to spread awareness so people can protect themselves against this horrible disease. Ang smashed her fundraising goal of $2,000, by raising over $7,000 for MIA! Thank you Ang for your incredible support.

Allen Moodley – Brisbane to Gold Coast Cycle for Cancer

In 2020, Allen set a goal to complete the Brisbane to Gold Coast Cycle for Cancer to raise funds in honour of John Callaghan, who was battling melanoma at the time. Due to is own health issues Allen was not able to complete the ride that year. Sadly, John passed away at the end of 2020. Despite Allen’s medical challenges, in 2021, he completed 60km of the 100km ride. True to his word, on the 27th of August 2023, Allen completed the full 100km in the Brisbane to Gold Coast Cycle for Cancer, and in doing so raised over $3,000 for MIA. A massive achievement, and what an incredible way to honour his mate John.

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Sydney Marathon

The 2023 Sydney Marathon is an iconic event with a spectacular course that includes a run over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a finish at the Sydney Opera House. The Sydney Marathon Festival was held on the 17th September and features the Sydney Marathon, Sydney Marathon 21km, Sydney Marathon 10km and the Sydney Marathon Family Fun Run 3.5km. This year, MIA had five runners supporting us.

Shai & Ziv Pinco: Earlier this year Shai was diagnosed with early stage melanoma during a routine skin check. Given his family history of losing his mum to melanoma five years ago, this was a wake up call. Shai and his son Ziv (both pictured) completed the marathon together, raising $1,150 for MIA!

Ryan Abil, Juraj Olejnic and Annaliisa Matikainen also completed the marathon, with the group collectively raising nearly $4,000 for MIA. Thank you to these amazing athletes for your hard work & dedication!

In Memory 

We’ve had a number of beautiful In Memory pages created this month, and extend our condolences to family members & friends who have lost their loved ones.

These include Matt Serhan, Stephen (Scoota) Bethune, Sylvia Steele, Steven Bruce Binnie, Demitrios (Jim) Tamiakis & Mark Ebert.

If you would like to organise a community fundraiser to support Melanoma Institute Australia, we’d love to hear from you. Please see our website, using link below, or email Peta on [email protected]