Strathbogie’s Broughton family raised $120k for MND after mother Jane died from disease

A Strathbogie mother and community pillar has had a van posthumously named in her honour after her family raised a record amount of money to help those suffering from MND.

The Broughton family raised $120,000 for MND Victoria after Jane Broughton died from the disease.

A Strathbogie mother has had a van posthumously named in her honour after her family – alongside the local community – raised a record amount of money to treat motor neurone disease in her honour.

Jane Broughton, died on August 20, 2023, just five weeks after she was diagnosed with MND, which she battled alongside bowel cancer and leukaemia.

Her first experience of MND occurred when she could not reach to put the seatbelt on in the car, which then spiralled into double vision before losing control of her neck, hands and arms.

A new delivery van for MND Victoria has been named in Jane Broughton’s honour.

Her husband Colin Broughton organised a fundraising dinner in June to make a “nice input” into helping those afflicted with MND, but was blown away by the response of the community.

The fundraiser in her honour raised $120,000 — a community fundraiser record in the 40-year history of MND Victoria.

“A lot of people told me I was crazy … I think I could have sold the tickets three times over in the end”, Mr Broughton said.

They sold all 150 tickets to the dinner at $240 a pop, while the auction offered items such as a box at the MCG to watch the footy and a trip to Palm Cove.

The trip to Palm Cove was sold for $7000 and the buyer then gave that back to the Broughton family, who were planning on going on the trip for their youngest daughter’s 21st birthday.

Jane Broughton’s parents with the van named in her honour.

The Broughton family were amazed by the generosity of the community after they raised $120k in one night to treat MND.

Mr Broughton was amazed by the generosity of the community.

“They dug deep into their pockets, they respected Jane, it was an unbelievable night,” he said.

Mr Broughton, who runs a livestock business as well as a real estate business, said family, friends and clients he met over the years all attended.

The Mercurie family from Euroa and the Retrakas from Melbourne organised a “wonderful” four-course meal for the evening, while Wangaratta’s Paris And Co hosted the event.

Jane was remembered by her husband as a “a super soft woman, but a woman that did not want any sympathy”.

The mother of four cooked up one final Christmas lunch, saying “you have all been carrying me, I’m doing Christmas”, Mr Broughton said.

The family remember their beloved wife and mother as a selfless person, personified when she raised $15,000 to build a portable building at the local primary school in Strathbogie.

She was a great cook too, known for her “beautiful Sunday roast” and desserts like rocky road and fudge.

Jane also had a beloved Jack Russell called Lily, which was able to come visit her in hospital in her final days.

The delivery van which was made possible by the record breaking fundraiser organised by Colin Broughton.

Mr Broughton was incredibly grateful for the hard work done by all the staff at the Wangaratta Base Hospital, who looked after Jane in her final weeks.

Ms Broughton was a big part of the local community, always helping out at the Euroa Football Netball Club, nicknamed the Magpies.

MND Victoria today unveiled a “much needed” delivery van in Jane’s name.

The van was covered in special branding dedicated to the Strathbogie community, a town with a population a tick over 300 people.

MND Victoria’s Jessica Wartski told The Herald Sun “it was an extremely special event for us”, considering the amount of money raised by the Broughton family combined with the one-year anniversary of Jane’s death.

Five hundred and twenty Victorians are afflicted with MND, including Melbourne Demons legend Neale Daniher.