Tauranga's Geerlings are fully behind a fundraising drive for Ronald McDonald House at Auckland's Starship children's hospital after it became the family's home away from home while one of their own was treated for cancer.
Ronald McDonald House will receive half the proceeds from ticket sales for the Colour Dash,an event next Sunday at Tauranga Racecourse.
It is a 5km fun run/walk in which people of all shapes and sizes get splashed with colourful dust along the way. The Geerlings are among 300 Bay families who have stayed in Ronald McDonald House while loved ones have been treated in the hospital - saving the families nearly $400,000 in accommodation costs.
Luke and Rebekah Geerling said they were grateful for the support when son Aaron underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant and radiation treatment.
"It was vitally important for us in keeping our family together," Mrs Geerling said. "It is much more than just a home. It has become a community for us, with other families on the same journey." Dealing with Aaron's neuroblastoma tumour had been stressful and it was important for the family to stay together and close to Aaron.
