A tight-knit community of BMX riders, friends and family came together on Sunday to raise $7590 for local man Ash Slattery, who is fighting cancer.
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The fundraiser at the Bridge Hotel Bendigo came on top of a GoFundMe campaign that has raised more than $36,000 in a week as well as donation drives and promotions at a number of local businesses.
Mr Slattery’s partner Meegan Stanley said the couple were blown away by people’s generosity.
“It’s incredibly generous,” she said.
Funds raised would go towards Mr Slattery’s living expenses and any unexpected medical costs not covered by Medicare. They may also go towards a trip to Venice, a destination Mr Slattery had not been able to visit because of commitments to his former business Connections BMX.
That trip would depend on Mr Slattery’s health. Ms Stanley said that while the couple hoped for a miracle, future options may be limited if the current round of chemotherapy did not achieve its goals.
More than 80 people came to Sunday’s fundraiser. Some traveled from distant parts of the state.
Many who had donated on Sunday or online knew Mr Slattery from his time at Connections BMX.
Others had met him earlier while he was competing in freestyle BMX events, Mr Slattery said.
“You travel everywhere with that. You don’t get paid unless you win comps but it was just good travelling around Australia. We went to New Zealand and the States as well. We were just travelling and meeting new friends.
“Back in the day it was awesome. We’d all rock up and anyone wearing the same BMX T-shirt were automatically friends.”
As Mr Slattery got older and started the shop he found the tight-knit sense of community continued, fueled in part by the nearby McKern Skate Park.
“The skate park was pretty awesome when it opened, so people coming from everywhere,” he said.
“It was the same thing, you met more people, find out where they were from. Then they’d invite you to their place. You didn’t need accommodation, you’d just stay at mates’ places.”
The Connections BMX storefront closed in December 2017, though the business continued online. Mr Slattery had taken another job in Bendigo, but work took a back seat after the cancer diagnosis.
To donate, visit the Help Ash Live It Up GoGundMe page.
Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
