"Cause I Can" Judith Cantor's fundraising projects

Tamest of the lot.

Although some people think I'm a little way out, let me tell you, I'm pretty normal if last Sunday is anything to go by!

That's right, I walked City2Surf with smurfs, storm troopers, bees and storybook characters, amongst others. It was a great day! Most festive despite the freezing temps at the beginning.

Now all we need to do is get the event organisers to ban corporate gear unless they support charities! Don't they (the corporates) realise it's good for business - that triple bottom line? Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Thank you so much to those who supported my efforts for WSPA - both financially and emotionally. The organisation needs as much help as it can get to help protect as many animals around the world as it can.

Check out my photos taken throughout the 14km route. There are some funny ones!

A growling 14km

Yes, that's right. Growling. Not gruelling (although it may prove to be that too).

You see, I'm taking part in City2Surf this Sunday morning and have decided to support World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). And I'm in good company. Corey and Reidy, two surf lifesavers from Bondi Rescue, will be doing it too. Have a feeling they'll be running it however, and fast.

WSPA stand for anti-cruelty against animals. For creatures that can't speak for themselves, such an organisation is crucial. People need to treat animals humanely and know the boundaries that should never be crossed.

They take interest in disaster management where animal welfare is a vital part of rebuilding communities. They monitor and help work horses that are over-worked and poorly cared for. They campaign to protect bears from cruelty and captivity. Amongst many other projects.

Please help them further their fantastic work by sponsoring my walk this Sunday? I've set the target at a low $250 and would love to smash it! To help me do that, visit www.everydayhero.com.au/judith_cantor_1 and make your donation today. Anything over $2 is tax-deductible. Every cent counts. Really.

Thanks so much for your support! It's much appreciated.

Through the vineyards we did wander

Yesterday, @_SherylCole of www.twospoonfulsofsugar.com and I took part in the 6.25km Winery Running Festival put on by Lawlers in support of Camp Quality. We left the CBD at around 7.30am and took a leisurely drive to Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley. Although, with the intermittent heavy fog patches, it wasn't as stress-free as you might have thought!

By the time we got there it was a beautiful but brisk day filled with sunshine and there were lots of smiling faces everywhere - especially those of the of the Camp Quality crew!

The marathon and half-marathon participants had already started so we waited for our event together with a crowd of super-fit runners who had already finished the race, children and families who were going to run/walk the 2.5km route just before ours, spectators and volunteers. I'm sure there were many there who had directly benefited from Camp Quality's great work!

The Wander route itself was a lovely blend of Hunter Valley Gardens behind-the-scenes views and vineyard tramping. It was just so lovely to be in the country!

I came 441st and Sheryl came 425th (because she just couldn't manage to do the whole track without a wee jog) - both in just over an hour. A really lovely Sunday stroll.

We finished it off with indulging in some chocolate: lime-infused and honeycomb. Oh yes, and moscato tasting! I can highly recommend the Audrey Wilkinson Winemakers Selection 2010.

Although the Winery Wander is now over, my fundraising page is active for another 60 days. No doubt Camp Quality would truly appreciate any support you can give them: www.mycause.com.au/WanderthroughthewineriesforCampQuality

Thank you so much to everyone who sent their good wishes, helped with spreading the word via social media and more traditional means, that is their mouths.

Until next time.

Fancy a trip to the vineyards?

On 18 July I'll be meandering through the vineyards of the Hunter Valley as part of the Winery Wander for Camp Quality. I'm really excited. Not only will I get to enjoy the scenery, the fresh air and the promise of a good drop of red, I'll also be surrounded by a few thousand people who are passionate about helping kids with cancer.

Do you want to come along? 

If you're up for the challenge - both the 6.25km walk and fundraising for this worthy cause - why don't we get a group together, hire a minivan to drive us there and back, and enjoy a sumptuous lunch and wine tasting afterwards? Maybe we'll even have time to stop off for some chocolate and cheese too!

If you're not too keen on leaving the warmth and comfort of the couch on a blustery Winter's morning, please support me by making a donation to Camp Quality i? 

Camp Quality's mission is vital to children with cancer and their families - bringing them optimism and happiness through fun therapy. They have created fantastic events like Liquid Laughter and esCarpade, and have regular programs dealing with education, recreation, family support and hospital.

I baulk at these stats from Camp Quality's website every time I read them:

- Cancer costs Australia $3.8 billion in direct health system costs
- There are approximately $15,000 children between 0-18yrs with cancer in Australia 
- On average one child is diagnosed with cancer every nine hours in Australia

It works out that, even if you can only spare $1 towards this cause, you will be saving $2.17 in health expenditure. That's massive! So, by making a donation, not only will you be paying for a dose of fun therapy for children with cancer, but you will really be helping shape the future of the Australian medical landscape. Visit www.mycause.com.au/WanderthroughthewineriesforCampQuality now.

Remember, all donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible.

Big thanks.

P.S. If you're interested in doing the Winery Wander together, drop me a line? 0402 257 655 or judith@judithcantor.com or @judithcantor

A day of red and white

MS Australia couldn't have planned it better. Not only were there thousands of people clad in their corporate colours to walk the 2010 MS Walk route - 5.5km, 9km or 16km - but so were many others in Sydney CBD in support of the Sydney Swans for the AFL match! A match made in heaven? *hint, hint*

We were incredibly lucky with the weather. After flash floods only a couple of days before, we were greeted with a dry and intermittently sunny day. It was freezing, mind you, but Fitness First were on hand to lead the participants through warm-up aerobics and so after a while we didn't feel it.

The 9km route took us through Hyde Park, down Martin Place, across to Millers Point, round the promenade at Circular Quay and the Botanic Gardens, past the Art Gallery of NSW and back to the starting point.

It was a wonderful chance to be part of an enthusiastic crowd supporting the cause. There were people on foot, in wheelchairs, and children in strollers, on scooters and strapped to their parents' bellies.

It also gave me the chance to see parts of Sydney that I would normally not notice if I were driving past in a car. In fact, I couldn't believe how many photos I took with my wee phone camera!

Thank you for your support and donations. May they only lead to the speedy discovery of a cure for multiple sclerosis!

Kiss goodbye to MS

If ever you were going to wear red lipstick, today's the day! It's World MS Day and MS Australia are encouraging ever to join the celebration by adding a splash of red lipstick to their pouts.

In further support of this wonderful cause, I'll be walking 9km on 6 June for the 2010 MS Walk in the Sydney CBD.

I was first confronted with the effects of MS when a friend of mine was diagnosed with the disease in her early thirties (which is the typical age of detection). The irony of it all was that I met her en route to run the 14km City to Surf only two years before!

She went through a rollercoaster ride of emotions - paralysed by the fear that she may be paralysed by the disease - and pain.

Thankfully her family and friends rallied around her, and she could afford incredibly expensive treatment.

I am pleased to report that she is now in remission and has since got married and is expecting her first child in a couple of months!

But not everyone is as lucky as her, and it is something that she will always need to be vigilant about. There is no known cause or cure for Mutilple Sclerosis.

Can you help?

Please sponsor my walk so that researchers can continue their work into the causes of MS and hopefully find a cure. Visit http://register.mswalk.org.au/MS-Walk-and-Fun-Run-Sydney/judithcantor and give whatever you can spare. All donations will be greatly appreciated, and any over $2 are tax deductible.

Thanks so much.

Four of 100,000 supporters

Last Sunday, my mum, my sister, family friend from Norway and I joined 99,996 people across Australia walking or running for breast cancer research in the Mother's Day Classic.

We couldn't have asked for better weather or a friendlier, more welcoming community event. It was wonderful. And to have been able to share the experience with three mums on Mother's Day made it even more special.

Some of the tributes we read tacked on to people's backs made us teary but it was the sheer joy and celebration of the women who had not only survived, but thrived, that set the overall tone. What an accomplishment! What a battle to have won.

And, contrary to my initial thoughts, I know a few more people who have (had) breast cancer. Tanya, Marilyn, Heather, Sheila and Ziona, our 8km walk was for you!

Thank you to everyone who sent me words of encouragement and support. They meant so much to me. My fundraising page is still active so if you are able to, please make a donation so that we can make significant change together - both to the National Breast Cancer Foundation and society in general. Visit http://sponsor.eventarc.com/sponsor/view/1987/judith-cantor today.

Blessings.

A mum and her girls

Every year I'm reminded of how many women are affected by breast cancer. How many people know people who have survived it, have it, or have died from it.

I'm incredibly lucky that only a handful of people I know have had to fight it. Thankfully two of them - my aunt in South Africa and my hairdresser of 12 years (and therefore long-lasting friend) - are doing really well. One in remission and one currently undergoing chemotherapy but standing strong.

But it could have gone the other way. Quite easily.

Can you imagine if we found a cure?
That's why I take part in the Mother's Day Classic. In hope.

This year, for the first time, I'll be walking the 8km track with my mum and sister! I'm excited. I'm even thinking I may be able to coerce my nieces into foregoing their teenage ways and getting up early to join us!

Please support me in doing the hard yards on Sunday? They're absolutely nothing compared to what someone with breast cancer has to go through, I know but every dollar helps the National Breast Cancer Foundation, truly.

Visit http://sponsor.eventarc.com/sponsor/view/1987/judith-cantor to make your donation.

Thank you!

Up, up and away...

We did it! On Tuesday Anne McKevitt and I jumped 14,000ft out of a perfectly good plane at Byron Bay! And both of us are still grinning, giggling and shaking our heads in disbelief. 

What an experience!

I was very grateful to have landed us a couple of t-shirts from Make-A-Wish Foundation when I was in Melbourne last week - especially as they were designed and signed by Hugh Jackman (yes, sorry ladies, we didn't actually get to meet the man - only pretend that he was flush against our skin during the jump!). They came in very handy in promoting the cause when we were interviewed by Prime News Lismore!

After about four hours of waiting for the weather to clear, Skydive Byron collected us from our resort (which, as it turns out, supports Make-A-Wish!) only to wait a further two hours at the base. Talk about an anti-climax.

Eventually our turn came and we got suited up by a woman who recognised Anne straight away from her various TV shows (so much for remaining incognito in Australia, Anne!).

Neither of us was nervous. In fact, I was quite calm until they opened the roller door on the plane and I got a blast of the -5 degree temp! It was only as I was perched on the edge of the plane about to fall forward into nothingness that I felt a swarm of butterflies fill my tummy - but that may just have been the muesli bar I'd eaten an hour or so before, or the rocking motion before launching.

My gorgeous, very young dive master Alex was great at keeping me relaxed - even though he came up with a few jokes in an attempt to unhinge me like "If you hear this sound *click click*, start flapping your arms." I only found out after the jump just how young he is - a mere 21 years old - which was a good thing, but also that he just came 6th in the national championships. No wonder he was keen to do all those twirly maneuvers! It did also mean that he was comfortable enough giving me the chute to control though, which was brilliant.

The jump itself was a tough one to process. 

The 60 second free fall was so intense it felt like 5 seconds but was filled with head chatter as I tried to compute what was going on and work out whether I was enjoying myself or not. My ears hurt. Falling through clouds felt like a million needles puncturing my skin and then the same sensation as thawing out after being in freezing weather conditions. And then came the floating once the chute had opened. That was absolutely sublime. Especially when we caught the thermals and soared. It was so still. And so beautiful. I could immediately understand why dive junkies are dive junkies.

Although it's been a few days since the jump, I can still sense the wonder, feel the adrenalin coursing through my veins, and smile at the memory knowing it's changed my life forever.

And thats' exactly what I wish for the seriously ill kids who have registered their own wishes with Make-A-Wish Foundation! To get to do something they'll never forget. And hopefully make the rest go away - if only for a few minutes.

My fundraising page is still active. 

Please, now that I've learned to fly and lived to tell the tale, be generous. Visit www.gofundraise.com.au/Judith_Cantor_04 and give all the sick children in Australia a high five.

Surely the fact that a global personality like Anne was brave enough to take the plunge with me is worth lots and lots of support too?

And in the words of our friend Hugh - "Believe in dreams".

For more photos click here.

Less than 24 hours away!

Just after dawn tomorrow, 20 April, I will be jumping out of a plane. With Anne McKevitt, global business guru and philanthropist.

To say I'm starting to get butterflies in my stomach is something of an understatement, but I'm incredibly excited too!

Skydiving over Byron Bay, with one of the world's leading minds, in support of Make-A-Wish Foundation, will be a tough act to follow. It's in a world of its own. A dream come true really.

Make-A-Wish grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses... things they never thought they'd get to do. Although, thankfully, I am not in the same boat as them, I can fully understand their joy. 

While I am in a position to pay for my "wish", they, and their families, more often than not are not however. They really need your help to do this.

Please, please, visit www.gofundraise.com.au/Judith_Cantor_04 and join the effort to bring more smiles to more kids' faces when Make-A-Wish are able the grant them their wildest dreams.

Thank you!

And, see you on the other side.