"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."
Remember September is PanKind’s flagship fundraising campaign, uniting our community and raising critical funds to fuel our cutting-edge research program.
PanKind, The Australian Pancreatic Cancer Foundation, is the only Australian charity exclusively dedicated to pancreatic cancer with a mission to triple the survival rate by 2030 and dramatically improve the quality of life for patients impacted by this disease.
Since inception, PanKind has invested over $14 million in research grants across 66 high calibre projects at top institutions across Australia, funding world class researchers who are committed to finding a breakthrough.
The Remember September story is part of the Foundation’s history. It started when Ben Wilheim undertook an extreme version of “Dry July” while his Dad Danny was fighting pancreatic cancer, giving up all liquids except water for 40 days. His initial fundraising target was $3,000 but he surpassed that within 2 hours of launching and went on to raise $15,600 for pancreatic cancer research.
In September 2014, not long after Ben completed his remarkable challenge, Danny sadly lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Ben’s cousin Danielle was only 33 years old when she lost her 6 week battle with the disease in 2012. Danny and Danielle's initials are forever etched into the ribbon on the Remember September logo.
Ben’s brother David Wilheim, says: “People take the challenge for different reasons; not just to raise awareness and funds, but for personal reasons too. I like that we can give that to people, and for me personally, the month is definitely a time for me to remember someone special. Every time I crave a coffee, I think about my dad Danny and my cousin Danielle.”
“People take the challenge for different reasons; not just to raise awareness and fundraising, but for personal reasons too. I like that we can give that to people. For me personally, the month is definitely a time for me to remember someone special. Every time I crave a coffee, I think about my dad Danny and my cousin Danielle.”
- David Wilheim