3 Years | 9 Events
Originally being known as the Blackfriars Community Student Team, Nathan Bishop started the group in May 2023 with a few of his school mates as a way to honour his three uncles who passed away in palliative care at The Mary Potter Hospice. The group then took a sharp turn in October 2024, where it was given an official name, Pals For Palliative Care, followed by holding their first ever initiative known as the Annual Pals Walk. This marked the beginning of the "community group" stage. However, in July 2025, Nathan was challenged to develop a "distinct vision" as part of his year 11 AIF (Activating Identities & Futures) studies to act as a foundation for the group to follow. This ultimately lead to the conversion into "PALS", an acronym standing for "Positive Actions, Lasting Solutions". Our step into this new foundation strongly showcases our commitment to all actions of charity, and our vision to become a truly universal charity organisation.
PAST INITIATIVES:
Take a look back at PALS' previous initiatives, as we take you through the amazing journey of how we got to where we are today.
01
Walk For Love - 2023
Our first initiative was the 2023 Walk For Love, which saw us raise more than $2,700 raised for The Mary Potter Foundation. A total of 11 students from Nathan's school, Blackfriars, took part in the walk; 9 from year 9 and 2 year 12 Prefects. (The group at this time was known as the Blackfriars Community Student Team.)
02
Laps For Life - 2024
Ian Thorpe's Laps For Life initiative, which was coordinated through the Blackfriars Open A's water polo training squad, saw the team raise over $2,000 for ReachOut Australia supporting youth mental health across Australia. (The group at this time was known as the Blackfriars Community Student Team.)
03
Walk For Love - 2024
A year had already gone by, with the team gearing up for their second time taking part in The Mary Potter Foundation's Walk For Love. Only this time, had significantly higher results.
The group managed to raise a staggering $6,500 for The Marry Potter Foundation, with more than 34 participants, including a range of Blackfriars students in years 9-12, 4 teachers, and a number of representatives from the school's P&F Association. (The group at this time was known as the Blackfriars Community Student Team.)
04
Annual Pals Walk - 2024
This was the first initiative under the newly converted public community group and branded name, Pals For Palliative Care. The inaugural ‘Annual Pals Walk’ was held on 3rd November 2024. This initiative was entirely created, organised, planned, and executed by PALS' founder, Nathan Bishop, as the primary focus for his Year 10 EIF (Exploring Identities & Futures) project.
The preparation for the initiative included organising/attending numerous meetings with teachers & The Mary Potter Foundation, contacting and calling SAPOL for regulations, working through work, health, and safety procedures, creating a Consent2Go for students, organising food/drinks for after the walk, and organising signs and banners for the walk.
This was by far the most successful initiative to date for the community group in terms of popularity and participants, with over 50 people from Blackfriars and other local communities taking part in the walk, whilst raising $2,145 for The Mary Potter Foundation.
05
Laps For Life - 2025
Our first of 3 initiatives planned for 2025 was a repeat of Laps For Life. Once again being held throughout the duration of March, this year saw a wider variety of participants, including members of both the middle and senior water polo communities. This year, the Laps For Life team raised over $1,800, with a total of 18 participants swimming 166km throughout the event! (The group at this time was known as Pals For Palliative Care. However, we did use the name, "Pals For Mental Health" with a special logo that was used on our socials during the final week of the event.)
06
Walk For Love - 2025
On the 25th May, a team of 49 walkers band together to take part in The Mary Potter Foundation’s 2025 Walk For Love on behalf of Pals For Palliative Care. Much like the previous Walk For Love events, the group completed a 7km trek around the beautiful streets of North Adelaide, raising awareness for the importance of palliative care in our local communities.
When reviewing our short history, it was discovered that this event was not only our most successful Walk For Love event, but our most successful initiative to date! This is because our 2025 Walk For Love team sits in second for number of participants (49 walkers) and amount raised ($5,481). However, they rank first for our most diverse group of walkers and donors yet, with a wider range of participants from diverse communities walking as one under the Pals For Palliative Care banner!
07
Annual PALS Walk - 2025
The Annual PALS Walk brought together more than 100 students, families, and young people in a powerful display of unity, compassion and support for palliative care.
As the first event organised by PALS’ newly formed Executive Committee, the Walk marked an exciting new chapter in PALS’ short history. It became our most successful event to date, with attendance more than doubling that of any previous PALS event.
Together, participants walked the 11km route through North Adelaide and the CBD wearing a splash of orange and blue, standing alongside individuals and families who have been touched by palliative care. The walk provided an opportunity to recognise the importance of compassionate care while raising awareness of the support available to people facing serious illness.
PALS also distributed 100 educational brochures throughout Rundle Mall, helping to spark conversations about palliative care within the wider community. The event raised $3,380 for The Mary Potter Foundation, contributing to more than $28,000 raised by PALS for palliative care over three years.
The success of the event represented the culmination of PALS’ rapid growth, evolving from a small handful of school students into a wider community of passionate young leaders who are committed to creating positive change and shaping a better future for our world.
08
Laps For Life - 2026
For the third consecutive year, PALS took part in Laps For Life throughout March, bringing together a team of 15 swimmers for one month of swimming, fundraising and community support for mental health.
This year’s campaign was PALS’ most successful Laps For Life campaign to date, with the team raising more than $4,000 and swimming over 80km collectively. These results placed PALS among the top 100 teams across Australia, ranking 73rd for fundraising and 81st for kilometres swum.
The campaign reflected the continued growth of Laps For Life within the PALS community, with swimmers supported by their families, friends and wider networks throughout the month. What began as a small annual initiative has continued to grow in participation, fundraising and impact, demonstrating the commitment of our young people to supporting mental health and creating positive change within their community.
09
Walk For Love - 2026
For the fourth consecutive year, PALS took part in The Mary Potter Foundation’s Walk For Love on Sunday 31st May. This year's event brought together over 65 participants for a 7km walk through the streets of North Adelaide in support of palliative care.
The 2026 Walk For Love marked a new milestone in PALS’ history, with our largest-ever team participating in the event and a record-breaking $8,810 raised, the largest amount PALS has ever raised through a single event.
The strength of our fundraising campaign was reflected by the 44 individuals who received donations through their personal fundraising pages. Collectively, this placed PALS as the second-highest fundraising team out of 76 teams across South Australia. This marked our second podium finish, following our second-place result in 2024, and our third consecutive year finishing within the top five fundraising teams in the state.
This year also marked the introduction of a new addition to the event by the PALS Executive Team, with participants encouraged to wear a “splash of orange and blue”. Inspired by the Annual PALS Walk, this created a striking and unified visual identity that represented the collective spirit we strive to bring to every PALS event.
Building on four consecutive years of participation, the 2026 Walk For Love demonstrated the continued growth of PALS and the strength of our community, with an ever-growing group of passionate young people, families and supporters coming together to stand behind the importance of compassionate palliative care.
10
Annual PALS Walk - 2026
Join us on Sunday 15th November for the 2026 Annual PALS Walk!
Coming Up Next
Make sure to check out our upcoming initiatives, that way you can be apart of PALS' history too!
Registrations Close: Fri 13th Nov
Thank You!
From everyone at PALS, we would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all who have been involved in our previous initiatives to date. Whether it be a small donation, took part in an event, or assisted in promotion, you have all contributed significantly to the growth of PALS as an emerging charity of its own. We hope that those who are already apart of our community stick with us, whilst others jump on board in the near future!