GET YOUR REGION INVOLVED WITH AUSTRALIA'S LARGEST BREAST CANCER EVENT

In 2013, a record $5 million was raised by 135,000 supporters at 74 events around Australia, including a landmark 63 regional events.

Mother's Day Classic national chair, Louise Davidson, wants to build on this wonderful support from regional Australia, saying no location is too remote or too small to host an event.

"Participants will tell you there is something special about the atmosphere at the Mother's Day Classic, whether it be a huge capital city event or a smaller community gathering in locations such as Dalby, Weipa and Kangaroo Island," Ms Davidson said.

"All you need is a local park or circuit, some walking shoes and a group of people to come together to walk or run to raise money for vital research."

Ms Davidson said that holding a Mother's Day Classic event was also a wonderful way to show support and solidarity to those in the community dealing with breast cancer.

The diagnosis is tough for anyone, but there can be extra challenges for rural and regional patients. Sheree McLeod, an MDC 2013 community ambassador from Tieri in central Queensland, says: "living rural means lots of travel and relying on my family to come long distances to look after the kids. There's also the financial burden and strain of having to travel thousands of kilometres for chemotherapy and specialist treatment for problems such as lymphaedema".

"Anyone, rural or big city, can be affected and the more we raise funds now, the closer we get to stomping out this disease. Every dollar helps - at the 2013 MDC I walked two days after having chemo as I was determined to raise funds," Sheree said.

Make Mother's Day memorable - register and fundraise

Local organisers have until 16 March 2014 to apply to stage a Mother's Day Classic walk or run in their town (see p2 for details). Community organisations, athletics clubs and schools are all welcome to participate.

"We'd like to hear from enthusiastic people willing to start a local event - their efforts will be supported by our national team. It's a great tradition to start with family and friends," Ms Davidson said.

"Last year first time events were held in locations including Snowy Mountains, Broome, Wonthaggi, Whyalla, Tin Can Bay and Alyangula (Groote Eylandt) - if they can do it, you can too!"

Mother's Day Classic is all about raising awareness and honouring those impacted by the disease, as well as funding vital research into treatment, detection and prevention.

"The more funds we raise, the faster a cure can be found. So instead of just registering this year, why not fundraise? Funding research is a great investment in the future," Ms Davidson said.

"Our online fundraising system and fundraising tips on the website make it easy for people to support you, so get in early and see what you can achieve. There are some great sponsor prizes on offer in each state."

Mother's Day Classic's overall contribution to breast cancer research since the event began in 1998 is a staggering $19.8 million, making the event Australia's largest funder of National Breast Cancer Foundation research. In that time, 5 year survival rates for women diagnosed with breast cancer have increased to 89%. But, with research, more can be done.

"Mother's Day Classic is a celebration of spirit and hope that together we can contribute to making breast cancer history," Ms Davidson said.

• To find out if your region has a Mother's Day Classic event, go to http://www.mothersdayclassic.com.au/events

• For more information on organising an event see www.mothersdayclassic.com.au/events/regional/how-organise-mothers-day-classic-event-your-town

To register or for more information go to www.mothersdayclassic.com.au

For media information, survivor profiles, photos or story ideas contact:

Kathryn Britt, National Media Manager, 0414 661 616 kbritt@mothersdayclassic.com.au

Organised by: Women in Super (WIS) is a national organisation of women working with and for not-for-profit superannuation funds. WIS cares about the health of women as well as their financial wellbeing and in 1998 established Mother’s Day Classic, an event which has become the single largest donor to the NBCF.

Major sponsor: ME Bank has proudly supported the Mother’s Day Classic since 2005. ME Bank also supports the NBCF through its EveryDay Transaction Account with PINK Debit MasterCard™. For every purchase a customer makes using their Pink Card, ME Bank donates 1 cent to support breast cancer research projects.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF): is the leading community-funded organisation in Australia raising money for research into the prevention and cure of breast cancer. Since NBCF was established in 1994, more than $97 million has been awarded to fund 340 research projects to improve the health and wellbeing of those affected by breast cancer. For more information, visit www.nbcf.org.au