Win the Day founder, mum and Queanbeyan school teacher Kristy Giteau has been named the 2023 Monaro Woman of the Year.
The Monaro Woman of the Year award recognises and celebrates the outstanding contribution made by a Monaro woman.
The winner is "a role model, who has excelled in her chosen field. In doing so, she affects lasting change and is an inspiration to others".
Ms Giteau is the founder of non-profit charity Win the Day, which seeks to financially and emotionally support families with a member suffering from a rare childhood cancer.
She created the charity in the midst of her daughter Ka'ili's cancer battle. Ka'ili is now, thankfully, cancer-free.
Ms Giteau is also assistant principal at Queanbeyan South Primary School.
NSW Member for Monaro Nichole Overall announced Ms Giteau as the 2023 Monaro Woman of the Year.
"Kristy has worked tirelessly to put other families in a better position than what she experienced," Mrs Overall said.
"She not only works full-time as an assistant principal, but she is a mother to three young children and in addition to this, she dedicates most weekends to helping other oncology families receive meals and financial assistance.
"I couldn't think of a more deserving person."
Mrs Overall will present the award to Ms Giteau at a breakfast gathering at the Mill House Cafe in Queanbeyan on Tuesday from 7.30am.
Tickets are available via eventbrite.com.au and all proceeds from the gathering will go to Win the Day.
It's been a monumental time for the Giteau family.
Last week, the Zero Childhood Cancer Personalised Medicine Program (ZERO), led by Professor Glenn Marshall and Win the Day Charity inspiration Ka'ili, announced that the program will be rolled out nationally for all children diagnosed with cancer. It is Australia's first and most comprehensive precision medicine approach for children with cancer.
The basic premise of ZERO is that every child's cancer is unique, just as every child is unique.
