By RUSSELL BENNETT
IT’S a must see on the Hills calendar every year, and this year was no exception. The Kids Fun Run with Thomas on Sunday brought Gembrook’s Puffing Billy railway station to life with the joyous sounds of kids’ laughter.
Held at the iconic station for the past 14 years, the event started from modest beginnings with a group of Emerald Rotarians trying to find a way to raise money for children in need.
Now, the Kids Fun Run is one of the Hills’ biggest fund-raisers, raising well over $400,000 for the paediatric ward at the Angliss Hospital and the fight against polio – just to name a couple of causes. This year, as it did last year, money raised went to CPEC – the Cerebral Palsy Education Centre in Glen Waverley.
The annual Kids Fun Run with Thomas sees children from the age of three to 12 channel their inner Usain Bolt to beat everyone’s favourite train, Thomas the Tank Engine.
The day starts at 10am, with Thomas’s last trip at 1.20pm.
About 450 runners attended on Sunday, with the ‘children raising funds for children’ aspect of the event along raising over $3300. The four fund-raising champions raised well in excess of $1500 between them.
The money raised from this year’s event will help CPEC purchase some much-needed solar panels and an all-weather sunroom for the children.
