Year 11 student, Natalie Featherston, is participating in the Royal Flying Doctors Ocean to Outback Challenge for the month of October. At the end of the month, Natalie will have walked and run 79km to raise funds for the Royal Flying Doctors Service (RFDS).
For 94 years, the RFDS has provided healthcare and emergency care for people living in rural and remote towns and communities.
“The Oceans to Outback Challenge is such an important cause to me because of its dedication to rural and remote Australians,” said Natalie. “I believe that it is essential that Australians living rurally have access to health services like the RFDS.”
Natalie moved to Clarendon as a boarder at the start of 2022. Her family live on a sheep and cattle farm in Dunkeld, two hours from Ballarat, where Natalie has lived her whole life.
“I moved to Clarendon to experience a better education that would broaden my opportunities after school,” said Natalie. “While moving schools and boarding has been a challenge, I am grateful for the dedication of my teachers, the lifelong friends I have made and the skills I have learned to help me pursue my heart’s desires.”
Natalie has been supporting and following the RFDS for many years and has participated in fundraisers with them in the past.
“There is a stark divide between the quality of care that rural Australians receive in comparison to urban Australians,” said Natalie. “The needs of country Australians can be overshadowed by the requirements of urban and metro Australians, which is why supporting the Royal Flying Doctors Service is so important to me.”
You can learn more about and donate to the Oceans to Outback Challenge via the following link.
Well done, Natalie!