This September, Western Australian Police Officers Oliver, Anita, Wendy and Tanya will be on route to Japan preparing for an experience of a lifetime. They will be hiking the country’s tallest mountain – Mount Fuji, in an effort to raise funds for cancer research and honour their fallen friends.
The past two years have been difficult ones for the Kelmscott Local Police Team. They’ve had to watch two of their brothers in blue, Larry McCarthy and Gary Husain, lose their battle with cancer.
“We’re a really close-knit crew and have been working together for a number of years. It was really difficult losing our friends. They were both really hard working and loyal men. They were always doing their best for our community.”
Experienced hiker and Senior Sergeant, Oliver Lund, will be leading the team on their ascent. And as someone who has already successfully scaled one of the world’s most challenging summits – Mt Kilimanjaro, he will be the perfect man for the job.
“We’re taking on this challenge for a number of reasons. Not only is it going to be a great team-building exercise, but it will also be a really special way to remember our friends and raise funds for a cause that has affected us so deeply. Cancer is never too far from our minds as so many families in our community are facing the disease.”
They decided that Mount Fuji would be the safest for the crew of first-time hikers, but at 3776 meters above sea level, it’s still considered one of the more challenging climbs.
“It’ll require quite a lot of strength and endurance. We like to keep fit as possible for work, and participate in regular police training days – but we’ve all really stepped it up in preparation for the climb.”
“Depending on how the weather treats us we’re planning on setting off in the evening and planning our trek so that we will finally reach the peak at dawn. Watching the sunrise from the top will be such an amazing experience.”
The team hopes to raise awareness of the ACRF Fundraising program “The more people that know about the ACRF Online Fundraising Program, the greater the impact we can have so we’re doing everything we can!”
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