Amy’s inspired trek for You Can
Date: 13 July 2021
This September, Amy will be taking on an 80km walking challenge in the outback of Northern Territory in honour of her brother and her mother.
Here is her story…
My name is Amy Wieck and I have always had a keen eye for adventure and what better way to go on an adventure than to go on a charity trek to raise money for a charitable program close to my heart – You Can Stay.
The reason I have committed to this trek with the Sony Foundation is because five and a half years ago I lost my brother, Jacob Wieck to Ewing’s Sarcoma – a very rare type of cancer that is found in bones and soft tissue and often in young people. He was a lover of movies; the West Tigers and he will be forever 20.
Over the course of Jacob’s cancer journey, he and my mum would travel up to the hospital in Sydney multiple times from where we live near Shellharbour (about 100kms or 1 ½ hrs away), often requiring them to stay up there for long periods of time. Not only did this cost a lot of money, it was precious time spent away from the support of family and friends.
My mum shares a bit about our experience in this Sony Foundation video about the challenges families face when they live far away from hospital
Jacob and our family would have loved to have been able to utilise the support You Can Stay accommodation provides if the program was around back then.
Instead I am raising much needed funds for other youth cancer patients and their families so they are able to spend time together through their cancer journey’s.
I will be walking the Larapinta in honour of my brother, but also for my mother for her time, effort and money put into helping my brother during his cancer treatment.
Amy has joined the Sony Foundation Larapinta Charity Trek Challenge departing on September 19 to raise funds for Sony Foundation’s You Can Stay program. Amy and the team of 12 will trek nearly 80km over 5 days to raise funds.
Every $100 raised will fund one night of accommodation for a regional youth cancer patient.
If you would like to support Amy or the team, please consider making a donation;
The photo was taken on November 8, 2014. It was a benefit night for Jacob to help raise some funds. This was the start of the night, by the end I had shaved my head! That night we raised a little over $16 000. There was so much love and support in one room.
The photo of Jacob and I together with my head shaved was taken at the end of the benefit night. I shaved my hair down to a number 1 and raised $1400 for Australian Sarcoma Research which was Jacob’s wish.
This photo was taken on our last overseas trip as a family in Hawaii. We were on our way to go snorkelling with the manta rays.
