Why Driven By KM was created.
“Driven By KM” is a charity launching officially on the Sunshine Coast from the owners of Kuluin Mufflers. Since opening the doors of Kuluin Mufflers almost 3yrs ago Ang and Luke Mansey have tirelessly raised money for various charities local and Australia wide. Having raised almost $20,000 in the past 12months for all causes close to their hearts, they have decided it is time to stand alone with their charity work in order to maintain integrity and transparency in all their future fundraisers. The change has come about as they want to have more control over where exactly the money raised goes to and don’t want to narrowed in the choices of who they can and can not help. The main thing that KM has until now kept rather low key is the reason they do this charity work. The reason this is being made public knowledge now is not for sympathy but instead to show that they are legitimate with their reasons behind wanting to be able to reach out and help other families of sick children or those in need of assistance in their community. Of the 4 sons they have; 1 was born with a rare condition of which the combination is the first in the world. He was born was Vactryl Association and Billiary Atresia. In short he has had 23 surgeries, spent almost his 1st year of life on life support, been resuscitated from flat lining 6 times, has holes in his heart, epilepsy, 3 kidneys, multiple throat surgeries, chronic lung disease from long term life support, is fed via stomach tube, has a rare liver disease that saw him placed on the transplant list at a year old and that is just some of his condition. This young boy is the reason KM exists in the first place. After liver failure caused them to leave their careers to be hospital side at short notice they knew they had to start a business where they could nurse their son beside them at work, whilst still keeping an income coming in to support their family. So they sold their family home and bought Kuluin Mufflers and built a lounge room in to nurse their son and started immediately giving back to the community around them who supported their dream. Not only do Kuluin Mufflers support the car scene and community and major car clubs in SE QLD but they are regular hosts of fundraising events and support the community in every way they can. They aren’t driving around in fancy cars or living the high life in any way, shape or form. They are blue collar, hard working and want to use their business as a platform in order to help those that need it the most in the Sunshine Coast. Their dedication to helping those around them has seen them win 2017 Business of the Year in Social Responsibility and Angie won Young Business Woman of the Year 2017. “Driven By KM” will be created officially following all the ATO and QLD legal guidelines and will be entirely not for profit. All of Kuluin Mufflers charity events are done out their own pockets and they do not take costings out to make them happen. The photo shown is of their son Corbin who has been greatly protected from the media until now as they wanted to shield him from peoples opinions and reactions. Recently a man walked into KM and upon seeing their son exclaimed that he now understands why they fund raise and until that moment had thought “it was a gimmick to advertise their business”. That shocked them to think that people ever imagined that their efforts where ever inauthentic. So they have shared their story but will not be disclosing recent photos to maintain their sons privacy as he is now 7yrs old. They know first hand what it is like to try to keep your heads above water whilst juggling a family, work and a medically complex child and would like to assist other families on the Sunshine Coast to keep going through their darkest periods too.
We will offer immediate respite from financial hardship that have been placed on the family due to the chronic life-threatening health of a child.
Driven By KM is dedicated to developing support services, in response to the needs of Sunshine Coast based families that have a medically complex child within their family unit. We hope that even if we are able to assist in a small way to relieve some burden of responsibility, whether it be by supplying groceries, travel costs to specialist appointments, cleaners to keep up with the household chores, helping with siblings school fees or assisting in paying for car repairs, it will give the family some relief both financially and time wise so that they can devote their precious time to their family.
We assist with organising and paying for services that range from food hampers, house cleaning, carers for parent respite, garden maintenance and various household bills that may build up whilst the parent / carer has needed to take time to care for their child. We understand that at times parents or caregivers may need to leave work for extended periods and we would like to reduce the stresses that surround a family with a child diagnosed with a life-threatening illness such as cancer, by extending the caring hand of assistance and offering hope and the knowledge that they are not alone in their journey.
