Run like Bear

We're fundraising to save little lives this August!

Run Like Bear

This August, our family and friends will be taking part in Red Nose Red Set Go, walking or running 3km every day throughout the month in memory of our beautiful boy, Augustus, also known as Augie. 

Our team is called Run Like Bear because Augie was our Bear. He was full of love, personality, mischief and joy. He should have been celebrating his third birthday on the 1st of August. 

Anyone who knew Augie knew one thing for certain: he never stopped moving. He ran everywhere. He was the little boy who never sat still, always off on his next adventure, keeping all of us on our toes. It feels fitting that we're honouring him by moving, walking and running together throughout the month that should have been his third birthday.

On Halloween last year, Augie died suddenly and unexpectedly. In an instant, our lives changed forever. Since then, we have lived through the heartbreak of losing a child of our community and the long wait for answers that never came. 

Last week, after months of investigations, his death was officially reported as unascertained. We still don't know why he died. Augie is one of a small number of children whose deaths are classified as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) - when a child over the age of one dies suddenly and unexpectedly, and no cause can be found. 

SUDC is rare, and for the families who live it, the impact is immeasurable. There are so few answers, so little awareness and far too many parents left asking the same impossible question of why. 

Living without answers is its own kind of grief. We miss Bear every day, and while nothing can change what happened, we hope that greater awareness and research can one day spare other families from this devastating loss or at least help them find the answers we never received.

Throughout this journey, Red Nose has been a lifeline. Their weekly grief counselling has provided Augie’s mum support, understanding and compassion throughout her darkest days. That's why we're fundraising. We're raising money to help Red Nose continue supporting bereaved families and to fund critical research into SUDC and other childhood deaths. 

Every donation helps provide support for grieving parents and contributes to the search for answers that families like ours desperately need.

The 3km we walk or run each day represents the three years Augie should have had. Every kilometre is for the memories we treasure, the future we imagined and the little boy we love beyond words.

Bear spent his life running through playgrounds, along the beach, down paths, into our arms and towards whatever caught his attention next. This August, we'll keep moving for him. Every step is taken in memory of the boy who never sat still and whose love continues to carry us forward.

If you're able to donate, share our page, or join us in supporting this cause, thank you. Your generosity honours Augie's memory, supports families navigating unimaginable grief and helps drive research into why children can die suddenly and unexpectedly.

This August, we'll run for answers. We'll run for awareness. But most of all, we'll Run Like Bear 🧸.