So we are raising money for the Cancer Council by taking part in a Shitbox Rally.

Why are we doing this?

Peters Reasons

Both my parents were diagnosed with cancer a different times during the 2000’s and in turn faced various treatments.

In the case of my mother – successfully, despite of long odds of not making 2 years is still here 20+ years later. All thanks to good treatment techniques management (and some stubborn determination on my mums behalf)

And my dad’s prostate cancer operation, although thought to be successful at the time, the cancer had unfortunately spread when the PSA levels detected were increasing. In the subsequent years we saw various different suppression drugs used with some pretty undesirable side affects. One caused pretty severe tiredness and nausea. Another loss of muscle strength to the point of being unable to open jars. Ultimately, despite changing the types of drug used it was obvious that some better ideas are needed. Side effects strong enough to make one question whether or not the trade-off between loss to quality of life vs the extra time of life is worthwhile.

Cancer is something that affects people everywhere. I have cousins who have been diagnosed. My father in law was recently diagnosed. I have a friend who has had cancer. I have seen friends lose parents to various cancers. I went to school with a couple of kids with leukaemia. And you hear of the heart breaking stories of peoples children with severe cancer. Even found out that one of my grand mothers who died a while before I was born was from breast cancer.

While cancer knowledge has improved massively over the years and for that we are grateful, the fact remains there is significant room for improvement. Which is the main reason I feel compelled to get involved and contribute somehow.

The Cancer Council

The Cancer Council of Australia as an organisation established in 1961 in 6 states of Australia as an independent body involved with Cancer. Its activities include informing people about cancer – reducing risk, what to do. It also connects people (both diagnosed and relatives/carers) with support and services.

And importantly the Cancer council provides funding for Cancer related research. In their words “Unlock the answers to a cancer free future”.

It’s not just talk either, according to their website:

• In 2021 they were able to fund $51 million dollars of research (together with their partners)
• They’ve funded 664 researchers working on 309 projects in 44 different institutions
• Survival rates have increase from 49% in the 1980’s to 69% today.

Box Rallies

Box rallies was founded in 2009 after the founder was motivated from the grief of losing two parents to cancer in a short period of time. Since then it has grown to running 3 shitbox rallies and a few other events each year that raise several million dollars a year for the Cancer Council.

To date, they have raised more than 50 Million dollars which has resulted in many projects funded. You can read more about the amazing projects funded here.

Participating in a shitbox rally is something that aligns nicely to our hobbies, desires and values. A desire to make a difference where we can for a worthwhile cause, while having a small adventure that peaks the interest while playing with old cars.

Why is our team called 5w thinker Fluid?

Ok… well just like you need a team name to pub tlay trivia, well we needed a team name to participate in the rally. And in order to finish the application form, you need to put a name down.

There is no option to apply and then figure out a name later on…

Given the limited time pressure when the application process being only open for a few days at a time, we needed to choose a name. After bantering about a few ideas late at night, we chose 5w as a reference to a popular grade of motor oil.

And thinker fluid is something we jokingly refer to when having a beer to think about solving a mechanical problem when working on a car.

Given the complex nature of Cancer, we figured people working on cancer research need a lot of thinking fluid.

And that is how the team name came about.

How to donate

This website is not involved with handling any financial transactions.

Donation is the easiest way to support our team. All donations are handled on the official box rallies donation page here . Donations over $2 are tax deductible and the donation page handles all the tax deductible receipt side of things easily.

Any donation is very much appreciated 🙂

Team Sponsorships – Get your company logo on our car (and other places)

There is a little bit more involved in setting up the team sponsorship and the donation page is not the place to do it if you want a sticker on the car and or various links back to your website.

There are also different ways to sponsor our team – from in-kind donations of goods, vouchers etc for out team to use as well as different ways to donate to the cause.

The best way to find our more is to visit our Sponsor our shitbox page and filling out the short form at the bottom of the page.

Feel free to follow along the adventure and share it with others. If you know of a company who would likes to support good causes, please put them in touch