Gold Coast Epic Walk for DV at Burleigh Heads to raise funds for Women’s Legal Service Queensland
A well-known Gold Coast presenter has shared how one moment at work changed her life forever and why she will be participating in a walk for domestic violence.
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A well-known Gold Coast presenter has shared how one moment at work changed her life forever and why she will be participating in a walk for domestic violence.
On March 30, Gold Coasters including Channel 10 presenter Liz Cantor and former Olympian Sally Pearson, will walk 5km along Burleigh Heads beach to help raise awareness for domestic violence.
Ms Cantor said she was inspired by the success of the Brisbane ‘Epic Walk for DV’ event and wanted to find a “tangible way to help” victims on the Gold Coast as a part of her involvement with the Gold Coast Dancing CEOs.
“A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think of Hannah Clarke and Kelly Wilkinson, their families and children,” she said.
In 2021, Ms Wilkinson’s estranged husband Brian Johnston doused the mother-of-three in petrol and set her alight when he ambushed her in her Arundel home.
It was less than two years after Hannah Clarke and her three children were brutally murdered on a suburban Brisbane street.
“What Kelly and Hannah went through prior to their deaths, and then the way they died, is beyond horrific and we as a community owe it to them to do more,” Ms Cantor said.
The Channel 10 presenter said she remembered the exact moment she heard about Ms Clarke’s murder.
“When I’m presenting the weather I have an earpiece in and prior (to presenting) I’m listening to the bulletin going to air and hearing all the stories rolling through,” she said.
“You hear stories like Hannah’s and every word of it just sounds so loud in your ear.
“You stand there thinking, ‘what can I do to help’.”
Ms Cantor said the walk from North Burleigh Surf Club to Burleigh Surf Club, and back, will raise money for Women’s Legal Service Queensland.
“The world keeps spinning but on March 30 at 7.30am, we want families who have lost their loved ones to domestic violence to know that the community hasn’t forgotten them.
“We acknowledge the pain they must live with everyday … long after the headlines stop.”
North Burleigh Surf Life Saving Club’s Nectar Espresso will donate $1 from every coffee purchased during the event.
A Gold Coast City Council spokesperson said they had noticed an upward trend of domestic and family violence across the region.
“Southport Magistrates Court has the second highest number of domestic violence applicants in Queensland,” they said.
“Providing approval for an event such as the Epic Walk for DV is a simple way to show that the City recognises we play a role in supporting prevention and reduction of domestic and family violence in our city through raising awareness.”
The Gold Coast Dancing CEOs have promised to match every donation made on March 21, “dollar for dollar”.
Donate at epicwalkfordv.com.au
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