The Walk has started!!!!
There are a number of ways you can follow the progress of Ashley and Anika's walk from Melbourne to Adelaide! You can "Like" Autism Victoria on Facebook for regular updates, photos of the walk, and the supporters' daily blog.
You can also visit the Walk 2, Walk 4 website for updates and information about the walkers and their progress.
View the supporters' daily blog by Fran (head of Autism Victoria's Support Crew)
Walk2…Adelaide – Walk4…Autism
Ashley Giordano and Anika Doktor are two best friends who are taking their passion for walking to a whole new level with a 770km walk from Footscray in Melbourne’s west to South Terrace in Adelaide, starting on 16th March 2011, to help raise awareness about Autism and to raise much-needed funds for families and individuals who face the everyday challenges that Autism Spectrum Disorders present.
Ashley and Anika both work for WorleyParsons and took up the challenge to walk to work for “National Walk to Work Day 2009”, starting off from Cairnlea at 5am and arriving at work in Footscray 3 hours later. Then in the evening they walked home again – 25km. The girls beat their record this year, walking 40km for the day from Cairnlea to the Melbourne CBD and back again.
That ignited their passion for walking and they are now preparing for the big walk, starting in Footscray on Wednesday 16th March, and taking them 17 days to complete. They aim to walk around 40km per day on average and hope to arrive in Adelaide on Friday 1st April ready to fly back to Melbourne for World Autism Awareness Day on Saturday 2nd April.
Anika Doktor and Ashley Giordano
Anika’s Autism Connection
In early 2009, Anika’s nephew, Kaya, was finally diagnosed with autism, after a prolonged period of uncertainty about what made him just that little bit different from other children. Kaya struggled to communicate, but since his diagnosis, he has been able to attend the new Western Autistic School campus at Laverton and things are really looking up for him.
As Anika says: “We’re just wanting to put it out there that these people are incredible, sure they don’t understand emotion like we do and they do things differently to us, but there are things that they can do that we can’t. They are all truly beautiful people who are different in their own way".
About the Route
Anika and Ashley will be waking through the following towns: Footscray, Bacchus Marsh, Beaufort, Ararat, Stawell, Horsham, Dimboola, Nhill, Kaniva, Bordertown, Keith, Culburra, Meningie, Tailem Bend, White Hill, Mount Barker, and Adelaide.
Daily Start: Ashley and Anika will start at 7.30am each day except Sunday 20th March (9am) and Sunday 27th March (8am).
Daily Arrival: Ashley and Anika will arrive between 4pm and 7.30pm, depending on the length of the day's walk.
| Day 1 | Wednesday 16th March | Footscray to Bacchus Marsh |
| Day 2 | Thursday 17th March | Bacchus Marsh to Ballarat |
| Day 3 | Friday 18th March | Ballarat to Beaufort |
| Day 4 | Saturday 19th March | Beaufort to Ararat |
| Day 5 | Sunday 20th March | Ararat to Stawell |
| Day 6 | Monday 21st March | Stawell to Horsham |
| Day 7 | Tuesday 22nd March | Horsham to Dimboola |
| Day 8 | Wednesday 23rd March | Dimboola to Nhill |
| Day 9 | Thursday 24th March | Nhill to Kaniva |
| Day 10 | Friday 25th March | Kaniva to Bordertown |
| Day 11 | Saturday 26th March | Bordertown to Keith |
| Day 12 | Sunday 27th March | Keith to Culburra |
| Day 13 | Monday 28th March | Culburra to Meningie |
| Day 14 | Tuesday 29th March | Meningie to Tailem Bend |
| Day 15 | Wednesday 30th March | Tailem Bend to White Hill |
| Day 16 | Thursday 31st March | White Hill to Mount Barker |
| Day 17 | Friday 1st April | Mount Barker to Adelaide |
| Day 18 | Saturday 2nd April | Walkers fly back to Melbourne for World Autism Awareness Day celebrations |
Can You Help Us?
Autism Victoria is very grateful to Ashley and Anika for putting their energy and time in to help raise awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorders. We hope that Victorians and South Australians will support them all along the way. We are calling on our members and the public to get behind this adventure with sponsorship and support of every type - if you can give your time, services, products, food, drinks, clothing, runners, accommodation along the way ,or support of any other type for Walk2…Adelaide, Walk4…Autism, please call us on (03) 9657 1611.
Download a Poster to put up in your business/office
Download a Supporters' Flyer to support the walkers as they walk through your area
Sponsor Ashley & Anika!
If you would like to sponsor the Walk2...Adelaide, Walk4...Autism, and get behind this great cause, please visit their Everyday Hero account.
If you wish to be a major supporter, download a Sponsorship Flyer here
