Busselton resident Raziel Pollard was named as one of this year’s ambassadors for the 2018 Chevron City to Surf for Activ at a launch event on Thursday.
The annual fun run raises money for the Activ Foundation which finds employment and housing for people living with a disability.
As part of Mr Pollard’s role as ambassador he will travel to all the City to Surf events in WA.
Mr Pollard has been involved with Activ since December last year, which has given him an opportunity to learn and work in the community.
To prepare for the fun run he has been doing “some extensive traning” with his coach Craig.
“He told me the gap between certain life poles was four kilometres - apparently it turns out it is six - nothing like a bit extra,” he said.
“I have some big shoes to fill as Merv King was involved for the last two years and has been a great ambassador for City to Surf.”
Activ sponsorship manager Dharshan Elikewela said the City to Surf event was one of the largest and oldest fundraising events run by a non-for-profit organisation in the world.
“That is in WA, it is something we should all be really proud of,” he said.
“It is nothing but amazing, as soon as people see us come into town the first thing they say is, ‘where can I sign up?’”
The event has run for 44 years and attracts around 30 to 40 serious runners each year who take part in all the events held in WA.
Mr Elikewela said this year they would hold a children’s program to encourage youth to get off their smart devices and phones.
“We would like to build a generation of people getting into this event, we hope to continue for another 44 years, there are a lot of runners who have returned for five, 10, 15 years,” he said.
“There are also some runners who have participated in nearly all events over the 44 years and that is what we want to instill in the next generation.”
Activ South West operations manager Anthony Bamford said the organisation helped their members find employment in the community.
Mr Bamford said many of their employees had gained employment through property work they did for the City of Busselton.
Activ also helped people create a home and while many people lived in a group home, under NDIS they hoped to find people a home which suited their needs.
“Everyone deserves a home which meets their needs,” he said.
“The other thing we do is provide community support for people in their day-to-day living and assist them in developing life skills so they can achieve their goals.”
City of Busselton mayor Grant Henley said the city was thrilled to maintain their relationship with Activ, especially after the Busselton branch almost folded some years back.
Mr Henley said the city worked hard with former local member Troy Buswell to make sure that Busselton’s Activ members did not have to travel to Bunbury to receive opportunities to gain life skills or work.
“The council are really proud to include our most enthusiastic and best workforce to help keep this town so beautiful.”
Registrations to the Busselton event on Sunday, July 29 are now open, for more information or to register visit perthcitytosurf.com/busselton/.
