TVC 051: The Mothers Day Classic.
I always say that giving back and getting involved is a great way to motivate yourself for a greater cause, however, a lot of people are overwhelmed and confused about what charitable cause to choose.

So I’d love to bring light into some of the things that are special about choosing charity events as a personal goal,  as your pillar to give back and how to know you’re making the right decision.

 

As part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing The Women in Super Mothers Day Classic CEO Sharon Morris –  about her role bringing together one of the longest standing charity fun runs across Australia. In its 18th year, they have been able to raise close to $25million dollars for breast cancer research in Australia.

 We discuss the rise of non-profit events and how The Women In Super Mothers Day Classic as created such a legacy and continued to grow. Sharon says this is due to the fact they have incredible sponsor support, amazing volunteers and the real dedication to creating a family event.
 
Largely supported by Women in Super network, which is a network of women in the Super Industry, Sharon leads a power packed HQ team of 7 people – with one hundred and four events across the country and, of course, all made possible by an incredible nationwide team of volunteers.

The wonderful thing about the Mother’s Day Classic is we’re supported by thousands of volunteers across the country. So we may have a small team and a head office, and there are many, many passionate people out in the community that support the event, and I think that’s what makes it so special, and it’s what makes my role so special.

The event was started back in 1998 and is continued to be supported by volunteer expertise and sponsorship via an incredible network of Women in Super and superannuation companies. The point of difference according to Sharon, is not only how people participate but the legacy for which they walk, run, stroll or wheel their way to the finish.

I think that is the real emphasis, and our statistics tell us that about 60% of our people actually choose to walk and the rest choose to run, and I know that a lot of people and a lot of women in particular run in the event and they walk with their families, and I think we are unique in that people walk and participate together, but as you’re walking around or running around the course, everybody is wearing a tribute in memory or in support of someone currently going through breast cancer, and to me that what makes our event so unique.

There’s this really emotional side of the event that it’s about remembering, that it’s also about celebrating life. It’s about celebrating women, and it’s about celebrating the family unit.

 

Knowing where your donations go:
The most important thing when choosing a charity to support is to know where your funds go.  Every little bit does count,  it’s very much about transparency, where these funds and registration fees go, which is why I love talking to non-profit organisations such as this.

I ask Sharon her top tips on choosing a charity and knowing where the funds would go?

1. Ask: Everybody should ask because with our event, in particular, we raise all our funds for breast cancer research. We choose the National Breast Cancer Foundation as the organisation we donate our money to and we’ve decided and now participants have told us through surveys that they want the money to go to breast cancer research,

For example with the MDC, money received is all through fundraising. We also have an independent board who chooses which particular proje...