More than 4,000 walkers have taken part in a Walk for Wellness, an annual charity event founded by Grease star Olivia Newton-John to raise funds for wellness programs at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Center.
Walkers in Melbourne and across the globe took part, raising an impressive $2,626,990 from more than 7000 individual donations.
It was the first Walk for Wellness without Olivia.
(Image: Getty)This year’s event was the first time the walk took place without Olivia after she died peacefully at her home in California following a lengthy battle with breast cancer. She was 73.
Olivia’s heartbroken daughter Chloe Lattanzi, 36, was visibly emotional in a recent interview with Today Show host Richard Wilkins when speaking about the charity walk.
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“It’s so beautiful to see how many people have come out in support of my mum,” Lattanzi said through tears.
Olivia passed away in early August.
(Image: Instagram)Lattanzi said that the charity meant everything to her mum following the Xanadu singer’s own decades-long cancer battle after first being diagnosed in 1992 at the age of 43.
She said that the aim of the centre was to ensure other cancer patients like her mum would have access to world class treatments and expert specialists.
“This was her heart. This is what she lived for. She saw the benefits of holistic treatments and wanted people to have access to all of those things,” Lattanzi told Wilkins.
In a statement released from the official Olivia Newton-John Instagram account, her family thanked the walkers, those who donated, and those who helped run the event.
“Thankyou to everyone who walked with us in Melbourne or who joined us from around Australia and the world.
“All of this would have been for nothing if it wasn’t for the more than 4,000 people who joined us in Melbourne, Australia and around the world, and the nearly 7,000 people who donated to them, and the incredible generosity of many others who wanted to show their support for Olivia and her dreams.
“You have all honoured Olivia’s legacy and brought love and light to those with cancer.
“On behalf of every person with cancer that will now have the support they need to thrive through their diagnosis and treatment – thankyou.”
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