Harley Elliott is enjoying a well-earned break over the school holidays.
The nine-year-old from Sunbury ran one kilometre a day every day in June to raise funds for the White Ribbon Foundation.
Rain, hail or shine, he always made sure to get his daily run in, even when holidaying in Adelaide and Cairns, in order to reach his goal of 30km in 30 days.
And by the end of the month, he smashed all his fundraising goals, raising $8119.
His mum Ashleigh was amazed.
“His first goal was $2000, then his second goal was $4000, and he hit that probably midway,” she said.
His goals kept going up, constantly smashing expectations.
“We stopped at seven… and lo and behold, he got to $8000,” Ashleigh said.
“We’d never, ever thought he would get to that much.”
Harley, a kid who loves giving back and helping out, wanted to do something “nice” and support a cause, and put his love of running to good use.
His mum offered him three charities to raise money for, before he decided on the White Ribbon Foundation – the foundation that fights to stop men’s violence against women, striving for a society where all women and children are safe from violence.
His mum couldn’t be more proud to see how much he’s achieved.
“The good thing about this is that everybody that saw what he was doing could feel the pride that I feel for him every day,” she said.
After running very hard and fast, Harley is ready to take a break and relax over the holidays, but looks forward to continuing to support the cause. He had one simple message that he wants to make sure is heard.
“If you are experiencing family violence, call 1800 respect,” he said.
