Paddling along the Murray-River held special meaning for a group of paddlers taking part in last week’s Massive Murray Paddle.
Suzy Murphy of the Murray River Maniacs team was raising funds for the Blue Datto Foundation.
“We’re paddling for our kids who have been killed in car accidents,” Ms Murphy said.
The team entered four kayaks in the event.
As the group meandered their way down the river, the names of their loved ones were clearly displayed on the side of their vessels.
For these participants, the 404km journey was more than a memorial effort, with the group from the Hawkesbury region of New South Wales, determined to continue raising road safety awareness among young people.
The Blue Datto Foundation was established five years ago and visits schools throughout NSW to educate students on how to remain safe on the road.
Road safety messages are initially aimed at those around Year 10.
“It’s a whole program that goes into the school,” Ms Murphy explained.
One of the founders of Blue Datto, Joe Vassallo said the foundation has reached close to 17,000 students.
“We started off in the Hawkesbury, just one little district,” he said.
Mr Vassallo and members of his family established the foundation following the loss of his son in a car accident.
“All we’re trying to do is change behaviour,” he said, referring to issues such as peer pressure, drug use, drinking and driving, and drivers being distracted by phones and other devices.
The Murray River Maniacs raised $51,000 for the Blue Datto Foundation through their involvement in the Massive Murray Paddle.
On the river, the team worked on a relay basis, but members were still required to paddle long distances.
“We don’t train at all and we’ve got a huge team of kids, pretty much the target kids, those with their Ls and P-platers,” Ms Murphy said of the Blue Datto paddling crew.
“I think we’ve got a team of 28. We’ve got kids paddling 60 kilometres a day who have never paddled anything, so we’re not elite athletes, that’s for sure,” Ms Murphy said.
