A local group participating in a national community walk has topped the fundraising charts this Father’s Day.
The Leopold Legends group raised $1120 as part of Man With a Pram, an initiative organised by Australian organisation Dads Group.
The annual event, which has run since 2019, raises both awareness of the need for support for new fathers and their families and funds to help grow dad support groups and programs across Australia.
The Legends, one of more than 40 groups participating in Australia and around the globe, gathered at 7am at Coffee Is Here in Leopold, usually the starting point for the weekly community running event Leopold Coffee Run.
More than 60 people took part in the walk, which also included face painting and a fundraising raffle with prizes donated by supportive local businesses.
Organiser Simon Moore said the event was fantastic, with an impressive turnout despite the “ridiculous start time”.
“It was definitely a really nice, wholesome community event,” he said.
A registered nurse, Mr Moore has been an advocate for support for dads since experiencing the life-changing event of becoming a parent four years ago.
Two years ago he began his own support group Strong Dads and has advocated for some time for ‘Dads Nurses’, nurses embedded in the healthcare system to provide care plans for new dads.
“It’s come from a place of challenge, where I moved to the region, didn’t have a support network around me,” he said.
“The stressors that were happening in my life were chronic and ongoing, and I knew from my nursing studies that the benefits of a healthy dad massively impact the well-being of not only the mum and child, but the community.”
