A 60 car strong convoy will pass through Warburton for the 2025 Daniher’s Drive to raise funds and awareness for motor neurone disease (MND).
The Drive will stop at the Warburton Bowls Club on Friday 10 October at 10.30am where ex-AFL players will take part in a bowls tournament and community stalls will be available.
It’s Millgrove local Lachie Pitman’s ninth Daniher’s Drive he’s participated in, and the cause is one close to his heart.
“I started it because a friend of mine about 35 years ago got MND. And no one had heard much about MND at the time.
“But more importantly, I’ve come across three people in Warburton and Yarra Junction who have suffered from MND and no one knows much about it.
“So hopefully we lift the profile of MND and also make people more aware of what they are suffering,” Mr Pitman said.
The Daniher’s Drive is an annual road trip through regional Victoria that raises awareness of MND, spearheaded by legendary footballer Neale Daniher AO in 2014.
After Neale Daniher was diagnosed with MND in 2013, he joined forces with two other MND campaigners, Dr Ian Davis and Pat Cunningham to advocate for better awareness and funding for the disease.
Together, they established FightMND, which has also held initiatives like the Big Freeze and Challenge 27.
The Warburton Bowls Club event will host a range of community stalls, a FightMND marquee, a social bowls tournament with 10 ex-AFL players and a performance from local musician Paige Barnard.
A sausage sizzle will also be on with support from the Community Bank Warburton-Yarra Junction and cakes provided by the Red Cross Yarra Valley branch.
Warburton Bowls Club vice president Max Reynolds said the club was happy to be involved in the Drive and that social bowls will continue after the event.
“We’re rapt to be involved in it and hopefully it’ll attract a few people down to the bowls club, we’re offering our club and the venue free of charge as it’s a charity,” Mr Reynolds said.
Mr Pitman said another ex-AFL player Terry Daniher will be wearing a Warburton-Millgrove Football Netball Club jumper at the Millwarra Primary School as the Drive heads out of Warburton.
“A lot of people have never met a celebrity and that’s why I think it’s a big plus for the community, to have at least 10 ex-AFL footballers plus the Danihers come to Warburton,” Mr
Terry Daniher will become an honorary member of the Warburton-Millgrove Football Netball Club.
Mr Pitman said suffering from MND was a “terrible way to end your life”.
MND is the name given to a group of diseases which impact the nerves known as motor neurons – the things responsible for sending messages to activate muscles in the body.
MND causes these messages to stop reaching the muscles, which causes the muscles to weaken and eventually stop working.
There’s no cure for MND and while some people can live a long life with it, the average life expectancy is 27 months from diagnosis.
Despite common misconceptions, MND isn’t rare and its impact is growing with an estimated 4300 Australians projected to have the condition by 2025.
FightMND co-founder Neale Daniher AO said in a statement the Drive was a chance to come together for a common goal.
“The Drive is more than an event on the calendar.
“It’s a chance to come together, to connect and to thank the incredible towns and people who have stood shoulder to shoulder with us in the fight against motor neurone disease (MND),” Neale Daniher’s statement read.
Though Neale Daniher is now non-verbal due to the effects of MND, he still remains at the forefront for the campaign to find a cure for MND.
Each team of four participating in the Drive has to raise $5000 prior to the drive and the funds go directly towards research for MND.
Since Daniher’s Drive kicked off in 2015 it has managed to muster $14 million to fuel the fight against MND.
FightMND as a whole has delivered $117 million into clinical trials and drug development projects for Australians living with MND.
Those interested in donating to FightMND can do so at the link: shorturl.at/09CoV
