24 September 2021

State vs state, mate vs mate: Queanbeyan, Ngunnawal trainers go head-to-head for burpee fundraiser

| Dominic Giannini
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F45 Queanbeyan owner Pip De Vries and her son Remy at the gym

F45 Queanbeyan owner Pip De Vries will be taking part in this weekend’s burpee challenge for DVCS. Photo: Michael Weaver.

Two F45 training teams are going head-to-head to see who can raise the most money this Saturday (25 September) – and you can help out from home if you’re game enough.

Teams from F45 Queanbeyan and Ngunnawal will host a burpee challenge with the teams doing a squat, pushup and jump for every $5 raised.

The money will go towards the Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS), with the teams hoping to raise a combined total of $5000.

Pip De Vries from the Queanbeyan centre said it had been hard for small business owners trying to operate during lockdown, so she and Eliza Rasic from Ngunnawal decided to put their pent up energy towards charity.

Even if finding an outlet for the pent up energy meant 1000 burpees, apparently.

“The purpose for our fundraiser is twofold – raising money for such a valuable organisation as well as uniting the two communities from our small businesses and giving them something positive to focus on and try to achieve during this tough time,” Ms De Vries said.

“Being a small business owner right now is difficult so it is easy to feel disheartened and a bit depressed. We wanted to put our energies towards something concrete that could hopefully achieve something good.

“We know how essential the services that DVCS provide are to those who need them so deciding to support them now was a no-brainer.”

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DVCS has experienced a 75 per cent increase in demand for emergency accommodation services during the current lockdown.

It was this statistic that spurred both women into taking action.

“At the moment, we are feeling excited about Saturday but also a little bit nervous about achieving our fundraising goal,” Ms De Vries said.

“We need our communities and the wider Canberra and Queanbeyan community to get behind us.”

DVCS CEO Sue Webeck said while the burpee challenge was a great opportunity to raise money, it also served as a reminder that support services exist for people experiencing domestic and family violence in lockdown.

“We are available 24/7, over the phone, online and face-to-face – just as we were before lockdown and just as we will be after lockdown,” Ms Webeck said.

“Some of our fundraising activities have been impacted by the lockdown. We are grateful to people like Eliza and Pip who are so supportive of our organisation, especially during this time.”

DVCS ambassadors Alan Tongue and Christian Lealiifano are also participating.

The event will start at 8 am this Saturday (25 September) and the live stream is available through the event’s Facebook page.

You can donate to the Queanbeyan team here, or the Ngunnawal team here.

To participate, reach out to the Queanbeyan team at queanbeyan@f45training.com.au or the Ngunnawal team at ngunnawal@f45training.com.au.

If you or someone you know is impacted by domestic, family or intimate partner violence, the DVCS 24-hour crisis line is available on 6280 0900.

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