Remember September
The Remember September challenge is about giving up something in your diet for 30 days to honour someone special in your life who inspires you. The challenge encourages you to make a positive lifestyle change while remembering a loved one. No matter which Challenge category you have nominated – sugar, caffeine, alcohol or all liquids except water – it’s not going to be easy!
The challenge presents a great talking point for you to start a conversation with friends, family and colleagues. Sharing your chosen challenge and why your doing Remember September will no doubt win their support. You may even inspire someone else to take up the Challenge for themselves. Remember September is all about:
- Making a difference in your life and the life of others
- Celebrating positive lifestyle changes
- Recognising the difference in your health and wellbeing after giving up something for 30 days
- Honouring a loved one who inspires to take on this challenge
- Raising awareness and funds for pancreatic cancer research.
Remember September co-founder, 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.”
We are planning a bigger and better Remember September 2021 Challenge!
The Remember September story
Remember September was established in 2014 by brothers David and Ben Wilheim as a challenge-based fundraising initiative. It all started when Ben undertook an extreme version of Dry July while his Dad Danny was fighting pancreatic cancer. For 40 days he gave up all liquids except water. 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.
Not long after Ben completed this remarkable challenge, his Dad sadly lost his battle on 15 September 2014. This was the second time the disease had impacted their family. Their cousin Danielle was only 33 years old when she lost her 6 week battle with pancreatic cancer in 2012. Danny and Danielle's initials are forever etched into the ribbon on the Remember September logo.
Every year since 2014, Ben and David have spent the month of September drinking only water, remembering their loved ones and hoping for change. Over the years they have recruited friends, family and the wider community to do the challenge with them. Remember September has raised in excess of $230,000 for pancreatic cancer research.
