Community
18 April, 2024
Rallying for a cause
MORTLAKE’S Dwayne Dolling will venture from Adelaide to Perth in a beat-up old Commodore after raising more than $11,300 for cancer research.
Mr Dolling last week joined close friend Jason McGlynn in heading off for the Autumn route of the 2024 Shitbox Rally.
The Shitbox Rally was founded by James Freeman after he lost both his parents to cancer within the span of one year, with hopes of approaching a serious topic with the not-too-serious brand of humour Australians are known for.
The concept of driving cars worth no more than $1500 across the country emerged to widespread support, and while the approach of the event may be whimsical the almost $45 million it has helped raise for charity over the years is no laughing matter.
Mr Dolling and Mr McGlynn took off on their adventure last week, which began in Adelaide and will see the duo criss-cross the Australian outback on their way to Perth.
They have been friends for some 10 years but had not seen each other in around five years.
In planning to catch up, the idea of taking part in the Shitbox Rally quickly became an idea the two wanted to pursue - not only could the old mates simply “go for a drive and hang out” but they could also take the opportunity to raise money for something which had personally impacted them both.
“It is an important cause to Jason and myself,” Mr Dolling said.
“Both of our families have been touched with cancer.
“My grandparents and father battled cancer, and my wife’s mother and father both died from cancers.
“That’s what pulled on our heartstrings.”
Mr Dolling said he was excited for a challenge as the 2024 Autumn rally has been rerouted due to flooding.
The event, began last Friday, is expected to take around eight days to complete.
The reroute hasn’t scared off Mr Dolling and Mr McGlynn from joining the convoy of more than 100 cars and 15 containing support crew when the inevitable breakdowns start.
As the name of the rally suggests, the vehicles are designed to be less than ideal for making such an arduous journey.
All vehicles must cost less than $1500 and cannot be modified to improve performance.
“We’ve got a commodore wagon, Jason acquired a car that had been crashed in the front end,” Mr Dolling said.
“He repaired it enough just get it up and going but you can’t do modifications.
“It has to be a standard vehicle.”
All participating teams in the Shitbox Rally are required to raise at least $5000 to join, all of which is donated to the Cancer Council.
Mr Dolling and Mr McGlynn made the decision to approach their fundraising a little differently.
“We haven’t done classic fundraising,” Mr Dolling said.
“We just went by word of mouth through friends.
“We’ve gone more down the private path, just raising funds among our friends and family.”
To date, the Adelaide to Perth Autumn 2024 edition of the Shitbox Rally has already raised more than $2.72 million.
The local duo has raised $11,300 of their own, which was something Mr Dolling said was “unreal”.
“You have to raise $5000 to quality but we set our target at $10,000,” he said.
“To get this kind of support has been overwhelming.
“To anyone who has donated to this worthy cause cancer foundation, we cannot thank you enough.
“Every bit of it goes towards research which can advance the quality of life of those suffering with cancer, improve the outlook of future sufferers and, hopefully, one day find a cure.”
