07 Nov 2011 - KM News
The MS Sydney to the Gong Bike Ride is Australia’s biggest annual fundraiser for people and their families living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
This year, what started out as three keen Sydney based employees deciding to take to the 90km challenge, ended up an inspiring a team of 15 strong, raising $5,810.00 towards the fight against the disease on the 6th November.
The momentum of the idea took off as the original three riders got talking to colleagues and 12 others decided to join in the spirit and show their support. The KM team now included staff from other states, two dealer sales people, one of our VAR resellers and a couple of staff members from our finance partner, Alliance.
The 90km ride was a decent challenge for our team, who included a veteran triathlete and a few long distance riders, who often ride recreationally on weekends but committed to a dedicated training regime in the past few months for the Gong ride.
The Team: Steven Davis-Raiss, Iain Barnfield, Jesus Luque, Matt Wilson, Andrew Bywaters, Ken Edwards, Sean Crichton-Browne, Fran Malta, Brendon Downs, David Bywaters, Mike Hughes, Steven Truong.
The Sydney to Gong ride is an annual event, raising money for research into and support for those affected by MS. It is a disease of the central nervous system affecting more young adult Australians than any other neurological condition. The disease affects three times as many women as men, the average age of diagnosis is just 30 years old, and there is no known cause or cure.
Raising money for the cause is close to the heart of Our National Operations Program Manager, Andrew Bywaters. He grew up with the story of his grandfather’s battle with MS and death at an early age to the disease.
In 1950, his grandfather was one of the first Australians flown to San Francisco for treatment of the illness. Little was known about MS at this time, and there was no treatment available in Australia that he would respond to. Unfortunately he returned from the US in worse condition than he had been in before the trip, having received the same treatment that was given to patients with Polio. Fifteen years later, by then completely paralysed, he died at age 44.
Andrew said that knowledge of and treatment for the disease is much better today, but his family story compels him to contribute to the MS Research. “I always took part in the MS Readathon and other fundraisers growing up, because the cause was personal to me. The ride is another great opportunity to raise awareness and funds for research into the disease”.
First Stop: Steven, David, Ken, Jesus and Andrew take a break.
Konica Minolta was pleased to donate $1,500 towards the cost of the team’s uniforms and would like to express thanks to their finance partner, Alliance for donating the same amount to cover the remaining cost.
We are very proud of the team, who to date have managed to raise over $5,810.00!
To show your support for our team please visit their fundraising page and make a donation before 30th November to make a difference to people living with MS. http://register.gongride.org.au/2011-Sydney-to-Gong-Ride/Konica+Minolta
For further information about MS Research Australia please visit www.msra.org.au
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