Stripping down to her undies for a good cause is personal for Julia Szulerowski.
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But Kiama’s ‘Dare to Bare’ for Cupid’s Undie Run race director is thankful to the 60 plus brave souls who joined her on Sunday to raise funds for the Children’s Tumour Foundation.
The event is held annually around Australia as a fun way to raise money and awareness for those with the genetic disorder Neurofibromatosis.
Neurofibromatosis (NF) affects one in every 2500 births and causes tumours to grow on any of the 100 billion nerves in the body.
It can affect major organs and lead to blindness, bone abnormalities, deafness, disfigurement, learning difficulties and death.
Mrs Szulerowski and her 32-year-old daughter Jessica both live with NF.
“I just want to thank everyone in the community for their help. Without them we wouldn’t be able to have the run,” she said.
“To get 67 participants this year is fantastic.
“My daughter and I both have NF and [the event] is a way of raising much needed funds and awareness to help find cures and put up clinics around Australia so other people like us have somewhere to go.”
This year’s goal is to raise over $500,000 for the Children’s Tumour Foundation (CTF) so it can continue to provide critically important support for those impacted by NF and fund vital research to develop treatments and one day, find a cure.
“People have until March 10 to get all the funds in and right now we are at just over $300,000. We are pretty happy with that,” she said.
Those who did the 1.5km walk, run or dance, then enjoyed an exclusive after party.
“The ladies in the church have made various cakes and slices for us to eat and a crew from Kiama Lions have come to feed us as well,” Mrs Szulerowski said.
“Kevin Sullivan has also come to entertain us. We are very thankful.”