Five months in the making

Annabella Cuff (15) will be jumping onboard a Leeuwin voyage this week, five months after first dreaming to be a lucky participant.

The Hamilton Senior High School student heard about Leeuwin voyages through the iWomen program (run by Kwinana Industries Council) in May, and with the help of her teacher has raised enough funds to accomplish her journey.

Bella’s ‘Fund Yourself’ goal was to fundraise $750 so she started a GoFundMe page and was humbled by the community support.

“The GoFund Me page was easy to set up and I didn’t rely just on Facebook to let everyone know. There’s lot of opportunities to put your story out there. Try putting posters up at school, asking your parents to talk to colleagues at their workplace and asking your teacher to send emails out,” she says.

Within a week Bella had achieved her Fund Yourself target and was so excited that she would be joining a voyage.

Michelle Taylor, Bella’s teacher at Hamilton Senior High School says that fundraising has given Annabella more confidence and an understanding of the support there is in her community.

“I believe for Annabelle the Fund Yourself campaign has contributed to her sense of accomplishment, while quite humbled and at times a little embarrassed with the donations it has provided her with the opportunity to experience success before she has even commenced the voyage,” says Michelle.

Visit the Fund Yourself page to start your Leeuwin journey now.

BELLA’S HINT: “Include a photo of you on the STS Leeuwin II so supporters can visualise the ship and what you will be doing for the week. Students just need to contact the Leeuwin office to arrange this,” Bella says.