Bridport women Sarah Hughes is raising money to reduce the incidence of avoidable blindness, taking on a 60 kilometre trek along Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula.
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The 48-year-old is preparing for the Wild Women On Top Melbourne Coastrek with her team, the Tassie She Devils.
She said she is offering dog walking services to raise money for the The Fred Hollows Foundation as part of the trek.
The Fred Hollows Foundation is an international development organisation working towards eliminating avoidable blindness.
According to the Foundation, they supported sight-restoring eye operations and treatments for 890,066 people worldwide last year.
A 2010 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study found four out of five people who are blind don’t need to be.
Vision 2020, estimated that more than 453,000 Australians are living with vision impairment or blindness, while the annual economic cost of vision loss in the nation is predicted to be more than $16 billion.
Ms Hughes said she got involved in the challenge because she wanted to make a difference and improve her fitness, along with her teammates Kristy McConnell, Lisa Kettle, and Kim Power.
“I have also been a vegan for the last 14 months and wanted my family and friends to realise this is a healthy choice and is not limiting me physically but has improved my health,” she said.
The November 18 event is aiming to raise $1.2 million for The Foundation to continue its fight to end avoidable blindness.
Ms Hughes’ team has already beaten their goal to raise $2000 for the foundation.
She will have between 10 to 18 hours to complete the challenge.
Wild Women on Top Coastrek chief executive Di Westaway said the event was a way for women to come together for their own health and wellbeing while also changing the lives of others.
To donate to Ms Hughes’ fundraiser, head to: https://melbourne.coastrek.com.au/fundraisers/tassieshedevils310