Val is turning 80 this year – hoorah!

She’s worked hard her whole life and giving so much time and energy to so many people and causes – but now she could really use your help.

She has been working two jobs over the summer to fund one last overseas trip but the rising cost of travel and travel insurance for 80-year-olds means she and her partner Lou may not be able to go without support.

Why We’re Raising Funds

Val has always been the person who enthusiastically helps others – with her skills, her time, her practicality, and her big heart. She’s not someone who asks for help easily, so we are doing it for her.

This year, her goal is to go, in May/June to Ireland for our family reunion, and to Canada to meet her first great-grandchild. She’s taken on two jobs over the summer and budgeted the heck out of how to make this happen.

However, the reality is that travel insurance at 80 now costs almost as much as the flights themselves. After 81, travel insurance is often not available at all – which means this is realistically her last chance to travel overseas with proper cover and in good health. The low-end cost of the trip for Val and Lou is estimated at around AU$20,000.

They’ve already committed their own time, energy, and savings and are coming up short. We’re creating this GoFundMe so that the people whose lives Val has touched have the option to help close the gap.

How Your Contribution Helps

Funds raised will go directly towards flights, travel insurance, basic accommodation and on-the-ground travel costs. Any amount is genuinely helpful. Even small contributions, combined, can make the difference between this trip being possible or not.

Val has a wide network of friends, family, colleagues, and people she’s helped over many years that we, her kids, are not acquainted with for the most part. If you have fond memories and gratitude for times she has contributed to your life, project or event, and you’d like to give something back, this is a very practical way to do it. Be sure to leave a message, story, or well wishes that we can read out at her birthday party!

If you’re unable to donate, sharing this with others who know Val is also a big help.

Thank you for helping make this important trip possible for her and we will let everyone who donates know how it goes.

With love and gratitude, Kath, Anda and Neil