Teen fights for her dying wish
A terminally- ill teenager has just one dying wish — to create a world where she feels safe leaving her loved ones — and she is making it happen with the help of Kiwi lingerie label Lonely.
Eva McGauley, 17, has raised almost $ 60,000 to help support survivors of sexual violence after watching many of her friends suffer the aftermath of being sexually assaulted.
Now, after years of working with other charities, Eva is set to launch her own organisation called Eva’s Wish, which will provide a platform to help teach young people how to fight for what they believe in, like she has.
Next week’s launch of Eva’s Wish will coincide with the official release of a photoshoot Eva did with Lonely, whose campaigns have featured the likes of Girls actress Lena Dunham.
Lonely has promised to donate all proceeds from online and instore sales on June 29 ( launch day) to Eva’s Wish.
“They got in touch with me last Christmas just to say they loved the work I was doing and that I had $ 1000 of credit in their store,” said Eva.
“I was very, very grateful and said that I would love to help them if I ever could,” which eventuated in the photo shoot.
Eva was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in 2015 — a relatively rare form of the disease that affects the upper throat, just behind the nose, which she thought was glandular fever.
After months in hospital undergoing intense chemotherapy and radiation therapy, Eva was told she was in remission.
“Then three weeks later they said they had got it wrong . . . and actually showed that [ the cancer] was terminal,” said Eva. So, Eva’s Wish was born. In New Zealand one in three girls and one in seven boys may be sexually abused before the age of 16.
“I read the statistics and thought they were terrible. But for me, when the statistics stopped being numbers and started actually being my friends I realised how big an issue [ sexual assault] was,” said Eva. “I wanted to do anything I could to help.” Eva began raising money for HELP, an Auckland- based not- for- profit organisation that helps women and children recovering from the effects of sexual assault, on Givealittle in July 2016.
The fundraiser was aimed at helping the teen tick making a positive difference in people’s lives, which will continue after she is gone, off her bucket list.
The money donated by Lonely will also help fund Eva’s Wish projects, three of which will get under way this year.
The first was creating an online video series for youth, on how to fundraise.
“I looked for these when I started fundraising and I couldn’t find anything right for me or right for my age group,” Eva said.
She also aimed to support better sex education in schools and work with HELP to create guidelines schools can follow when a student is sexually assaulted by a peer.
Eva said she was grateful for Lonely’s support and hoped other brands would jump on board.
Lonely co- founder Helene Morris said she hoped the photoshoot and money raised would lead to greater awareness, support and education through Eva’s Wish.
“Eva is our ultimate inspiration. Choosing to spend her time trying to make a positive difference in peoples lives is incredibly admirable.”
Eva’s Wish will be launched on June 29 at BizDojo in Wellington.