The Stickland family freezes the day with the Hills MND Big Freeze 

The story of the Hills MND Big Freeze is one of gratitude and an unshakeable sense of community. After attending a DIY Big Freeze event in Garfield, Victoria, Sarah Stickland turned to husband Matt and said, “We could do this. We should do it after everything FightMND has done for us.” Matt, who has lived with motor neurone disease (MND) for over a decade, wholeheartedly agreed and what started as an event uniting the hills community in the fight against Beast quickly grew into something much bigger.  

Held in the regional community of Emerald, Victoria, the Hills MND Big Freeze brought together families, friends, neighbours and complete strangers. Together they raised awareness and nearly $113,000 for MND research and care initiatives. The event’s success is a tribute to the Stickland family and the strength of the community that rallied behind them. 

In recognition of their impact, the Hills MND Big Freeze was proudly named Event of the Year at the 2025 Cardinia Shire Council Australia Day Awards. A moment that encapsulated not only the Stickland family’s vision but the collective strength of a community united in the fight against the Beast.  

To learn more about the event and the work behind it, we spoke to the Stickland family about their experience in hosting their very first DIY Big Freeze event. 

What inspired you to host a DIY Big Freeze event? How did the community respond to the challenge?  

With MND having a direct impact on our family, we have always been keen to support fundraising efforts. So when we attended a DIY slide event in Garfield, Victoria we were inspired.  The community feel, the funds being raised, and the fun that everyone was having was enough to make us decide that this would be fantastic in our local area.  The Hills community embraced the idea.  We had so much support and more local identities putting their hand up to slide than we could accommodate! 

Can you tell us how the event went? What was the overall vibe of the day?  

The event was brilliant.  I still have people talking to me about the day 6 months later.  It gave the community an opportunity to come together, have a great day out and all for such a wonderful cause. Everything that we had planned came together so successfully.  We had an amazing group of volunteers that worked tirelessly throughout the day selling beanies and promoting raffles and auctions.  All the sliders we had fully embraced the day with costumes and smiles.  We had face painting, live music and plenty of food and drink options. It was so much fun. 

In the weeks leading up to the day, we also had a couple of local identities who were selling beanies right across the Hills Community, at local football and netball matches, supermarkets and even outside the local newsagents. Without their help, we would not have raised as much as we did. 

We also involved the local primary schools to have a competition as to who could raise the most money per student. One local school, Cockatoo Primary, raised over $12,000 alone! 

Were there any standout moments or memorable highlights from the event?  

Announcing the final tally of $113K was a highlight for us.  We went into the event with expectations to raise $20K, and the community support of the event blew us away.  It was also an incredible moment when we looked out across the event to see a sea of blue beanies filling every available space.  Very overwhelming! 

How did the support from FightMND help you in planning and hosting your event?  

FightMND were fantastic.  They were there every step of the way offering assistance and support.  The online portal to set up the sliders was simple to use and very effective to share with the online community.  We even had support from Lynne [FightMND Fundraising Director] on the day which was amazing; and the amazing Ian Cohen [FightMND Media Liaison] volunteering his time to come and MC the event. 

Looking back, what advice would you give to others thinking about hosting their own Big Freeze event in their community?  

Do it! You will be amazed by the number of people that want to support the cause.  It is also such a great opportunity to bring the community together. 

Brad from the Garfield Hotel had suggested that the secret is to try to make it a community event; that was great advice. 

What’s next for you and the community after the Hills MND Big Freeze? Are you planning to bring it back this year?  

We were fortunate to win not only the Emerald Village Association Event of the Year, but also the Cardinia Shire Event of The Year.  This recognition and accolade has driven us to gear up again for the Hills MND Big Freeze 2025.  We have commenced planning and now have even bigger fundraising targets. 

Dare to Do and bring the Big Freeze to your Community 

This year, FightMND is challenging Australians to dare to do and team up for Big Freeze in your Community.

Big Freeze in your Community is all about uniting your friends, family, teammates, or your community to take on MND your way. Host your own DIY Big Freeze , join your club’s Community Round, or wear your Big Freeze 11 Socks. Each action helps in the fight against MND. Funds raised through Big Freeze in your Community will support vial MND research and programs helping those living with MND. 

Are you ready to dare to do? Head to our Big Freeze in your Community page to learn about how you can get involved in 2025. Together, we can beat the Beast that is MND.