A DETERMINED father and son competed in the recent Ironman championships in an effort to raise funds for children with facial anomalies.
Inspired by his success after becoming an Ironman South Africa Tour Series medal recipient last year, Michael Price (44), from South End in Port Elizabeth, raised a total of R8 600 to aid the Smile Foundation for children in need of expert surgical intervention.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Price’s son, Cale (9), took on the Ironkids challenge for the third time this year in the hope of raising R5 000 to support the Smile Foundation.
With eight donations, he has already raised a total of R1 540.
“I love to smile so I want to see other children smile as well. Last year I helped children smile and it makes me happy to help them again this year,” Cale said.
With the Ironman champs’ campaign, BackaBuddy, Price and his son continue to receive donations through this platform, which is based on crowd-funding donations. According to Price, supporting the Smile Foundation has become a family affair.
“My son is a very happy child and it broke his heart the first time he saw another child with a facial deformity.
“So the work that the Smile Foundation does is very dear to us. When I started training for Ironman, I wanted to be a part of something that was bigger than myself so I got involved with Smile Foundation,” Price said.
The Smile Foundation has a comprehensive health care vision for children living with facial conditions.
Together with the country’s academic hospitals, they are determined to put the smile back onto children’s faces with corrective facial reconstructive surgery and treatments.
The foundation has raised a total of approximately R2.18 million on BackaBuddy through various projects.
The Ironman duo hopes the public will continue to support their BackaBuddy campaigns.
Price added, “We are hoping to raise awareness and funds for Smile Foundation, to continue the phenomenal work they already do.
“If we are able to make a difference in just one child’s life, then we would have accomplished what we set out to do.
“An Ironman journey is just that – a journey – and one you do not want to do alone.
“We are ordinary people capable of doing extraordinary things when we find our passion.”
To support the Ironman champs, visit the BackaBuddy website, www.backabuddy.co.za. All funds will be managed by BackaBuddy NPC and transferred directly to the Smile Foundation.
