Eleanor campaign tally tops $300k

THE campaign to raise money for three-year-old Eleanor Oakley’s treatment last week topped its goal of $300,000.

It comes as GoFundMe data shows that if the generosity of Tasmanians continues at this rate, the amount donated to causes will top the 2018 figure as early as next month.

Tasmanians have donated more than $1.1 million to GoFundMe pages this year, which according to the charity campaign organisation is close to passing last year’s total.

One of the causes that has seen donations shoot through the roof is for Eleanor Oakley, whose stage-four high-risk neuroblastoma relapsed in August. Her parents, Jacqui and Rob Oakley, started a fundraiser one month ago with a goal to reach $300,000. That total was reached and surpassed last week.

Mrs Oakley said she and her husband could not express how grateful they felt for the help. “It’s really uplifting,” Mrs Oak ley said.

“We’ve been at the lowest of lows just with our daughter’s health, it’s been really hard to express how difficult that’s been to get through — the last eight weeks since we found the new tumour. Then our GoFundMe started and it really lifted our spirits.

“There are donors that we don’t know, donors from mainland Australia and international donors and we just feel so privileged to have that support at this difficult time.

“We couldn’t do it without them.”

The generosity of donors will help the family to pay for an antibody treatment in the US that would cost about $300,000.

Mrs Oakley said she and her husband are currently in negotiations with three hospitals in the US, and said Eleanor will be able to have the treatment if her next scans show she is stable.

GoFundMe regional manager Nicola Britton said that when factoring the small population of Tasmania, the growth in donations had been noteworthy.

“Over $1 million has been donated by Tasmanians on GoFundMe, to both local and national causes, already this year,” Ms Britton said.

“Considering the small population size of Tasmania, the growth we have seen has been incredibly inspiring.

“Tasmanians are proving that their close-knit communities are some of the most generous in the country.”