Crusader credits community for Cancer Council funding

Darryl “Doc” Henning has raised more than $877,000 for the Cancer Council of WA in the past 15 years and the Safety Bay man says he could not have done it without the overwhelming support from the community.

Mr Henning said he and his wife, Kaye, who is a breast cancer survivor, had been touched by the community’s generosity to his fundraising efforts.

“You hear some beautiful stories and I’m thankful to every person who donates,” he said.

Mr Henning has lost his mother, father and brother to the disease, and after his wife was given the allclear by doctors, he began his fundraising crusade.

It started out small, but after the amazing response from the community, Mr Henning said his fundraising target got bigger.

“People will flag me down on the road and run over with their change, insisting on donating,” he said. “There has been mighty support, and it’s great to see that coming from young people as well.”

“It’s been wonderful to see support from little children,” Mrs Henning added.

“It’s priceless to see little kids come over with five cents and put it in the tin.

“They have been taught to give, and it’s really special.”

She said education was important to detect cancer early and she encouraged other women to have regular checkups if they had a family history of the disease.

Mr Henning said it had been an incredible 15 years and he had no plans to slow down.

After recently raising $30,000 for Prostate Cancer, Mr Henning’s next goal is to break the $1 million mark.