In 2018, Alana de Kort, a cherished student at Mater Maria Catholic College, lost her battle with Ewings Sarcoma, a rare childhood cancer. Alana would have been in Year 12 this year.
Over the past few years, Alana’s family has been affiliated with The Kids’ Cancer Project, a national charity that supports childhood cancer research, as well as running a variety of fundraisers all over the Northern Beaches to donate the money raised to the project.
Alana’s brother, Jake de Kort, was the Vice-Captain and Mission Award Winner of Mater Maria Catholic College in 2015. Jake has been heavily involved in the Blue Bottle fundraising efforts and as a result of his contributions to the community, he was recently nominated by The Kids’ Cancer Project as a Westfield Local Hero (Chatswood).
Determined fundraiser Jake, is on a mission to change the lives of people and families affected by cancer. After losing his sister to cancer, Jake became a volunteer for the Kids’ Cancer Project, where he does everything in his power to support the cause through his Blue Bottle project. Jake has even completed a double degree and hopes to one day develop a tool for early cancer diagnosis and intervention.
The family is thrilled to announce that Jake has been voted as one of the three Westfield Local Heroes for 2021.
The Kids’ Cancer Project recently announced that it will be funding some exciting research into future treatments for sarcomas, including Ewings Sarcoma, which impacted Alana and will now be awarded a $10,000 grant to support its work to thrive.
Thank you to Westfield for running the Local Heroes Program and to our Mater Maria community for supporting Jake with the nomination. You all made this happen and are helping to make a difference.
To find out more about Alana’s journey and Blue Bottle visit https://bluebottle.org.au/
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