10 years, 100 friends, $10,000 for research to honour a lost loved one at Mother’s Day Classic

The Mother’s Day Classic walk or run for breast cancer research started from modest beginnings as a walk in the park and has grown into a major national community event. Belinda Hendriksen is a Victorian mother and team captain for more than 100 walkers who will represent Kerry Team 10/100 in this year’s Mother’s Day Classic.

This year is ten years since I lost my dear friend Kerry Lynch to breast cancer.

In 2006, raw from the loss, as it was just weeks after her death, Kerry’s family and friends participated in our first Mother’s Day Classic. Every year since, it has become an important event for me and others to acknowledge and remember Kerry.

To mark the tenth anniversary, I really wanted to do something special on Mother’s Day, Sunday May 8. The theme that kept coming to my mind was 10 years, 100 friends, $10,000. How wonderful would it be if we could get 100 people to walk in Kerry’s honour, and to set our sights on raising $10,000 for breast cancer research?

It wasn’t too daunting to get the team together – Kerry was amazing and touched so many lives.

A few days out from the 2016 Mother’s Day Classic and we already have 112 team members.

I’m delighted to say we’ve surpassed our fundraising goal – the team has already raised $10,150 and we are still going!

The last time I looked at the Mother’s Day Classic website, our humble Kerry Team 10/100 was in the top 10 fundraising teams, with the likes of large corporate teams such as David Jones, Mercer and Qantas.

It’s such a thrilling way to honour our wonderful friend. Mother’s Day Classic is a very special event, making it a great fit to honour Kerry. It really has an atmosphere all of its own. You can’t explain it to people until they experience it for themselves.

Many people have walked with us for Kerry over the years. I will continue to do it each year, as long as my legs can walk! It’s my special day with her.

Both Kerry’s children, sons now in their twenties, will walk as part of Team Kerry, and I’m hoping to push Kerry’s mum around the course in a wheelchair.

Kerry was one of those girls who never said a bad thing about anyone. She was such a fun person, with so many friends. She loved Abba music, and loved a party. We formed a solid friendship when our sons met in Prep (the boys are still good friends). Kerry was god-mother to my daughter Katie.

All of us, her family and friends were in shock when she was diagnosed, as there was no history of breast cancer in Kerry’s family.

She seemed fine for a few years after treatment, then the cancer returned and spread throughout her body. She put herself up for trials knowing they wouldn’t help her, but thinking that it might help other women dealing with breast cancer in the future.

Kerry will be close to our hearts when we walk, rain, hail or shine, this Sunday on Mother’s Day.

While our involvement in Mother’s Day Classic is all about honouring our friend and loved one, I think Kerry would like the fact that the money we raise totally goes to researching ways to end breast cancer, or at least to provide better detection and treatment outcomes until a cure can be found.

We miss you my friend, as so many Australians miss their loved ones lost to cancer.

It’s not too late to register for Mother’s Day Classic or to donate to breast cancer research, or support Kerry Team 10/100.