She was gone less than a year later.
The insidious disease has taken far too many lives within the Goulburn Valley and beyond and that’s why Mooroopna Junior Football Club is raising awareness about it.
Michelle Marsters, a MJFC committee member and friend of Gladigau, has helped organise a fundraiser to follow the club’s under-16 football game against Shepparton-Notre Bears at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve on Sunday.
Taking inspiration from the AFL’s The Big Freeze fronted by Neale Daniher, the Cats will plunge local identities underwater in the inaugural launch of The Big Dunk.
All proceeds will go directly to MND Victoria to fund research into the condition and honour the life of a well-loved woman within the Goulburn Valley community.
“She (Gladigau) used to work for the Shepparton Women’s Health Centre, so they created a foundation in her name, a bit of a legacy I suppose you could say, to raise money and awareness for MND and all profits from her legacy go directly to MND Victoria,” Marsters said.
“With my involvement with the Mooroopna Junior Football Club, we wanted to bring an event to the kids, something they could all get around and be involved in.
“It just made sense to leverage off what the AFL have already created as far as their Big Freeze, and how do we bring that back to our clubs in a similar way?
“So we’ve called it The Big Dunk instead of The Big Freeze and we’ve got some local icons in our own club that are all getting dunked on Sunday.”
While the underlying message is deep, Sunday’s event is centred around fun.
Following the under-16 game between the Cats and Bears, several figures from both clubs as well as City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali will take the plunge.
Local businesses have donated prizes for a raffle and covered the cost of the special coloured MND socks for the players to wear, while Commonwealth Bank has shelled out for the dunk tank.
Marsters hopes to get plenty of use out of the tank in the coming years, wishing for The Big Dunk to blossom into an annual event when the two clubs play off each year.
She also thanked the involved parties that have pulled this together and made it possible.
“It’s not just me that’s been pulling this together, there’s been a few of us — the Shepparton Women’s Health Centre are the ones that’ve set up the foundation; we’re trying to support them and they’re trying to support us,” she said.
“We’ve had lots of support from the community, all profits are going straight to MND and we haven’t had to cover any costs.
“I just think it’s amazing that Mooroopna and Bears can be rivals, but yet still come together for a common cause and support each other.
“They’ve already said they’re on board to do this as an annual event.
“It’s something for the kids to really enjoy and get behind and it’s just good for the community.”
ˑ To donate to the page honouring the life of Karen Gladigau, visit https://www.mnd.org.au/memory/59/karen-gladigau
