On 7 October 2011, Dan and Kristine Hillcoat put their four-month-old baby boy Matty to bed.
Unbeknown to them, this would be the last time they held their son alive.
Tragically, on the morning of 8 October, Matty was found unresponsive in his crib. He had fallen victim to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
SIDS is a sudden and unexplained death of a healthy baby, usually during sleep. SIDs predominately affects infants between the ages of one month and one year.
Despite extensive medical research, SIDS remains an elusive mystery to the medical profession, and its cause remains unknown. Prone sleeping positions, unsafe sleep environments, and genetic predispositions are key risk factors, but even with this knowledge, SIDS continues to strike without warning.
After losing Matty to SIDS, Dan and Kristine noticed that most of the research towards SIDS was about prevention and awareness rather than the cause.
Devastated by their loss, Dan and Kristine reached out to Rivers Gift and created the Matty Hillcoats Truckers Day Out event.
This event not only honours the memory of their happy boy but also raises much-needed funds to support research into the cause of SIDS. Monies raised by this event are donated to Rivers Gift, a charity that dedicates its time to funding research for SIDS and supporting families navigating their grief.
Having grown up in trucking families, Dan and Kristine were quickly inspired by the idea of a Truckers’ Day Out.
The event hosts several fun events, including a truck parade, tractor pull, woodchopping, an auction, rides for kids, a bar for adults, food trucks, and entertainment by the Crackup Sisters.
It is community-oriented and allows families suffering from any form of grief to come together and support each other.
This year, Matty Hillcoats Truckers Day Out has also teamed up with Tiacs, a charity that provides free telehealth counselling for tradies, truckies, farmers, and blue-collar workers. Tiacs was founded by the co-founding directors of TradeMutt, the makers of the conversation-starting loud workshirts you can see at Bunnings. Once again, this shows the capacity of this family to raise money for research and their empathy towards people suffering from mental health issues.
In the first year of Matty Hillcoats Truckers Day Out, the family raised $22,000. At their most recent event, they raised about $90,000.
Talking to Dan, his goal is to “smash it out of the park and raise well over $100,000 this year“.
The event will be held at the Gympie Showgrounds on 12 October. It starts at 9am and runs until late. Tickets are already on sale, and kids under five are free.
To learn more about Matty Hillcoats Truckers Day Out or to donate to SIDS research through Rivers Gift, visit Matty Hillcoats Truckers Day Out Facebook page and Rivers Gifts website SIDS Research, Education and Advocacy | River’s Gift (riversgift.org).
We hope to see you at Matty Hillcoats Truckers Day out.
