A woman who exemplifies ordinary people doing extraordinary things will be the guest speaker at an International Women's Day dinner organised by Quota International of Taree.
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To be held at St John's Church Hall, Taree, at 6pm on Monday, March 11, Maura Luxford will share some of her story from ride4acure, a charity she founded in 2009 after the loss of her eldest daughter Hannah at just 20 years of age from melanoma.
Maura is passionate about working in community to build relationships, working collaboratively to build a more inclusive, informed and educated community.
With nearly three decades on the Mid North Coast working in community and personal development and the last two in vocational education, underpinned by an enduring enthusiasm of working with people to find creative ways to engage fully in community, Maura brings a profound sense of optimism to the ordinary.
International Women's Day has always been significant in her life, with Maura attending her first IWD march in Adelaide with two of her sisters in 1977 as a 15-year-old.
She sees it as a moment in time for women to stop and reflect on the contribution ordinary women bring to the nation.
This 2019 International Women's Day is all about celebrating women's achievements and challenging bias with the theme 'Balance for Better' in our communities, nationally and globally.
Maura and her family found out the hard way that melanoma is the most prevalent and deadliest cancer in young Australians under the age of 25, realising most young people and parents had little awareness of the science behind melanoma and skin cancer, let alone how to prevent and protect themselves.
As an educated woman, Maura was not aware this deadly disease impacted so profoundly on young Australians.
In 2009, in response to Hannah's hopes to tell other young people to look after their skin and to raise money to find a cure, Maura created the charity ride4acure and an educational multimedia resource called Mela-What? and took it on the road.
From humble beginnings created sitting at her kitchen table, Maura undertook long distance treks on a pushbike and horses, connecting and sharing with over 25,000 young high school students across five states of Australia and at the same time raising over $145,000 for the Hannah Rose Melanoma Research Fund.
Maura set out with a goal to bring to life Hannah's Hopes and to put melanoma on the map across our nation.
She did that plus some, when in 2014 took Mela-What? to Hong Kong University to present to a global audience.
Tickets for the Quota dinner are $25 per person. Booking are essential and available from Margaret's Underfashions in Taree, Ashlea Road Boutique in Wingham and Dan's Ladies Wear in Taree.
For further information or dietary requirements, contact Jeanette on 6551 0910.
