Reflections from Robin Penty, August 2024 

From organising a stunning gala ball, to fun runs, marathons, and other special fundraisers, we feel your passion as we work together to raise vital funds and awareness across the broad community.

Raising funds with our active community – and I do mean active! – is a key part of the OCRF’s fundraising strategy, and in July one of Australia's largest running festivals, the Gold Coast Marathon took place. Many runners raised funds for the OCRF, including Amy Wagner, who shared her story with us.

Amy ran to raise funds in honour of her sister-in-law Carolyn, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was just 11 years old. Amy represents just one of the hundreds of fundraisers who create a fundraising page for medical research and the OCRF throughout the year. Each person’s reason and story may be different, but together they demonstrate the true power and impact of community, keeping us on track to our ambitious goal for step-change in research!

This past month we also spoke with Chris Ho who is organising the inaugural Shine Ball in Sydney to raise funds for OCRF in honour of his late wife Melanie, who passed away from ovarian cancer last year. Chris is turning tremendous grief into inspiring action, and I cannot wait to experience the outcome of his incredible efforts at the Shine Ball later this month.

Finally, as we reach the final weeks of winter and head into spring, it means our fashionable, month-long fundraiser Frocktober is just around the corner! The team is working hard behind the scenes to give Frocktober a whole new look and feel for 2024. You can get a sneak preview of what’s to come by visiting the new Frocktober Instagram. Registrations will open in early September, and I can’t wait to see the creativity that follows.

We’ve also got some big announcements and other campaigns launching in the coming months – including the 2024 Georg Jensen campaign – so there is no slowing down as we power well into the second half of the year!

Warm regards for August,

Robin Penty

CEO, Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation

The Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands upon which we work, strive, and learn, the Wurrundjiri Woi wurrung and Bunorung Boon wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and extend this respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia and beyond.