Since late August, $43,000 has been raised by the community through cash donations and several auctions.
And with one final push — in the form of a giant raffle with a multitude of prizes on offer — a final total of $50,000 is a genuine possibility.
When Bradley Jones was diagnosed with Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome — which carries a life expectancy of 48 to 52 years with no known cure — in January 2019, he and wife Holley thought things could not possibly get any worse.
But to further compound their hardship, they were later given the devastating news that their two children, Hunter, 4, and Isaac, 1, had vEDS as well.
And on August 26 this year, Bradley was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia.
This barrage of news pushed the young family’s lives to a crossroads where they were forced to resort to the local Foodbank just to get by.
One month and one hugely successful fundraising campaign later, the family's fortunes have done a 180.
Holley said the funds donated so far had been a literal life-changer.
“We are just blown away with the support and all the people reaching out and donating and just wanting to help our family,” she said.
“It really has made this scary time a little bit easier knowing that we’re not stressing when the next bill is coming in. It’s definitely helped.
“We also took the opportunity to go down to Geelong on the weekend and just have a break. That was amazing. It was great to just go and have a relax.”
Campaign organiser and family friend Belinda Turpin said hitting the $50,000 goal would be amazing, especially given the initial goal she set herself back in August.
“When we started, $5000 sounded huge, but $50,000 is a year's wage for an average income earner, so that would be phenomenal,” she said.
“We’ve got in excess of 40 prizes and the biggest prize is three nights in Echuca at the Water Slide House, which was donated by the family who own it. It’s a beautiful place and is worth $1800 for the weekend.
“Holley said that Brad has really been enjoying his life and concentrating on his kids and not having to be worrying about whether he can get up and go to work.”
The final fundraiser will be live-streamed on the ‘The Jones’s – Give Them A Break’ Facebook page on Friday, October 2 at 7pm.
The page can be found at facebook.com/The-Joness-Give-Them-A-Break-112944987198496
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