Alma St Prep’s Jill Gilchrist runs Gold Coast marathon for cancer battler

A Gympie prep teacher will compete in the Gold Coast marathon this weekend to raise money for the family of a little girl battling devastating cancer - and the community is right behind her.

Gympie prep teacher Jill Gilchrist is living her school’s ethos on acts of kindness, fundraising for a former student’s battle against cancer by running in the iconic Gold Coast marathon.

Gympie prep teacher Jill Gilchrist says there has been an overriding ethos at her Alma St Pre Prep centre, focusing on “being kind and engaging in acts of kindness”.

Now she is walking the walk on that belief, and then some.

The lifelong Gympie resident and co-director of the centre is making it a reality, starting with a literal marathon effort to raise money for a young former student battling cancer.

Mrs Gilchrist is running at the Gold Coast’s major event on Saturday, July 6, as part of the fundraising efforts for her tiny former student, who she declined to speak further out of respect for the family’s wish for privacy.

The fundraising was to give the little girl’s family financial support given the costs of the fight, including a continual need to travel outside Gympie for treatment, and to “bring some relief to a family who needs it right now”.

Gympie prep teacher Jill Gilchrist has so far raised more than $6500 to help a young former student with her battle against cancer.

“The commitment doesn’t end when they leave (Alma St),” Mrs Gilchrist said.

The fundraiser followed a first-ever superhero day at Alma Street, which was held to help another family starting their own battle.

In the three weeks since her campaign launched Mrs Gilchrist has raised $6500, with support coming from not only residents but businesses including Global Tree Works, Neil’s Engineering Solutions, Albrecht Refrigeration, and Gympie Central Service Centre.

She said Malouf Pharmacies and De Vere Design Co were also supporting her campaign through raffle offerings.

There was no end goal for the fundraiser.

Gympie prep teacher Jill Gilchrist hopes running the Gold Coast marathon is the start of what her fundraising can achieve. Photo: Supplied

“We’ll do what we have to do to hopefully generate the outcome we’re looking for,” she said.

Mrs Gilchrist said the best part was experiencing how the community’s “willingness to get behind something or someone for a greater purpose”, even in the face of their financial pressures and a cost-of-living crisis.

Her hope was the marathon fundraiser and the prep school’s superhero day were “really the start” of something much larger, which might stretch to include helping fix the region’s homelessness issue or supporting organisations like the Ronald McDonald house.

“We’ve got so many families in our community doing it tough,” she said, with the long-term goal extended well beyond what she can do for one family.

“If you can helps someone in any way, why wouldn’t you?”

Originally published as Alma St Prep’s Jill Gilchrist runs Gold Coast marathon for cancer battler