Sebastian's Journey

By JPY Group

Sebastian's Journey Proudly Supporting

On Sunday 21 April 2024, a group of dedicated amateur cyclists will be taking on a 130km challenge from Bella Vista to the beautiful Bowral in support of Diabetes Australia and JDRF (formerly Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).

The ride is in honour of 32-year-old Sebastian, who passed away in September 2023 as a result of diabetic ketoacidosis.

The eldest son of Richard and Belinda Stafford, Seb was born on 4 April 1991 and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was in year nine at school. Since his diagnosis, Seb struggled with managing this chronic condition. While he initially benefited from mentoring from his teachers at school, as well as encouragement from his parents, Seb had difficulty in taking advice from doctors and diabetes educators. Seb resented being told what to do and for being dependent on daily insulin injections.

This state of mind never changed and although Seb acquired an insulin pump, he was still required to make ongoing multiple calculations and decisions (as do all people living with diabetes) every day to maintain his blood glucose levels (BGL) and general health. This struggle impacted Seb’s mood, ability to work and his ability to maintain relationships as his BGL was consistently high.

In his twenties, Seb was repeatedly hospitalised as a result of diabetic ketoacidosis, often in intensive care. Diabetic ketoacidosis is a life-threatening condition that develops when cells in the body are unable to get the glucose they need for energy because there is not enough insulin. This condition took Seb’s life last year.

He was loved by all for his humour, warmth, charm and kindness.  

Organisers of this event and close friends of Richard and Belinda, Jano & Paul Yousseph (JPY Group) are aiming to raise $100,000. Their goal is to raise much needed funds and increase awareness of type 1 diabetes and the impact the condition may have on mental health. Up to 50% of people with diabetes are thought to also have a mental illness such as depression or anxiety.

“Sebastian's passing affected us immensely,” says Paul Yousseph. “Type 1 diabetes affects so many families, with Jano being diagnosed recently in her early fifties, her nephew being diagnosed as a young teen and many other close friends whose children were diagnosed at a much younger age.”

“I recently heard the terms diabetes fatigue and diabetes burnout, which are very real states of mind. People living with diabetes have to make numerous decisions to manage this chronic condition every day, with what can feel like no end in sight.”

“Our hope is to find better ways to support the mental and physical health for people with type 1 diabetes,” says Paul.

Sebastian’s Journey will start in Bella Vista in the early hours of the morning on Sunday 21 April 2024 and finish at Glebe Park, 6 St Jude Street, Bowral in the Southern Highlands, and will include 1,600m of climbing.

Join us as we cheer on the cyclists as they cross the finish line around 12.30/1pm after a gruelling 7+ hours on the bike. Paul and Jano are putting on a BBQ at the finish line in Glebe Park for family, friends, supporters, donors and the great team at JDRF and Diabetes Australia. All are welcome to attend.

If you would like to join this ride or would like more information about this fundraising event, please email sebastiansjourney@jpygroup.com.au.

Thank you to my Supporters

$5.01k

Anonymous

$2.02k

Micxel Pty Ltd

Great effort JPY, good Luck and all the best.

$2.02k

Plan Urban Services Pty Limited

Wonderful cause - good luck

$2.01k

Anonymous

Congratulations and well done on a great cause!

$1.52k

Anonymous

Go for it guys - what a great cause!

$1.2k

Nathan Chidiac

God Bless you Paul, JPY Group and all the Cycling Crew.

$1.02k

Eyecraft Films ( Antoine Milkeo)

So proud of my cousins and enjoyed every minute of taking the photos and drone footage. Watch this space

$1.02k

Electrical Project Solutions

go payly

$1.01k

Dianne Sande

You guys are a constant inspiration. I will support you all the way but not on the bike xx

$1.01k

Nth Solutions

$1.01k

Jpy Group

A donation to get the ball rolling - a start of many more to come to reach our goal - appreciate all donations large and small xxx

$1,000

Peaceworks Consulting

$1,000

Emma Munro & Josie Crimmins

Thank you for honouring & remembering Sebastian. We miss our nephew every day.

$520

Mark And Barb Reynolds

Great initiative to raise awareness and honour Seb

$520

Bob Fitzell

Well done guys

$520

Emmanuel Poullas

$520

Darren O'brien

$520

Fiona Shoobert

$514.55

Edward And Katherine Sande

Very proud of you both… we will be cheering you all on at the finish line.

$514.55

Lendlease Construction Ux

$501

Pierre Yousseph

$500

George Family

So proud to play a small part in this cause close to my heart, led by the amazing Paul and Jano!!

$420

The Geek Academy

You both never cease to impress us! We're so honored to have you as family. See you at the finish line :)

$369.25

Clovic Yousseph

Great cause and I feel privileged to play a part on the day. It wasn't easy being the support vehicle.... sometimes driving at 9km/hr behind some of the riders .....but it was worth it. An awesome outcome

$316.50

Elie Fares

God bless you and protect you always for your beautiful heart. Much love always

$316.50

Anonymous

I hope that you finished!

$316.50

John Cornish

All the best

$316.50

Peter Douroudis

All the best guys.

$316.50

Cameron Mclean

$316.50

Joe Sande And Family

God bless u all on that day🙏🙏

$316.50

Antoinette Chahine Family

$300

Moses And Vivian Samaha

We are soooo proud of you guys. Moses and Vivian

$263.75

Michele Corin

What a loss! Our hearts are with you. Michele and Ron xxx

$263.75

Anonymous

$263.75

Justin Ibrahim

$263.75

George Kahila

$263.75

Kelly Morrison

Dear Paul, wishing you all the best for the ride. Kelly

$263.75

Michael Karam

$263.75

Christine Eberl

Absolutely devastated to hear of Sebastian’s passing. All my love to Rich and Belinda and best wishes for the ride.

$263.75

Catherine Federici

Good luck Paul and to all the riders. Great cause. C

$263.75

Siobhan Hargroves

Amazing work guys!!

$263.75

Evan Leslie

I am so terribly sorry for your loss Richard.

$263.75

Instyle Finishes

Great cause

$263.75

Toni Blume

What a wonderful initiative JPY - an annual event is a great goal

$263.75

Jon Davis

Jano and Paul, I know how much of a loving support you have been to Richard, Belinda and the boys. It brings a smile to my face to see you dedicate this amount of effort to such a good cause. I am happy to support and if there is anything you need on the day I am happy to pitch in. Please let me know

$260

Steve Bloomer

Well done Paul and Jano. Hope the knee holds up Paul?

$260

Bradley Miller

Amazing effort, looking forward to seeing you both soon and good luck with the ride!

$260

Rebecca Reid

$260

Justin Zingel

With love and support Jano from Justin and Melinda xox

$260

Deb & Vince Berkhout

$260

Todd Hammond

All the best with the ride & fundraising. A worthy cause for a much-loved man.

$260

Ceinwen & Richard

Great initiative that addressing a pressing health issue. See you at Glebe Park, Bowral on the 21st. Cheers

$260

Elias Maroun

Well done, God Bless. See you there

$250

Edward Salib

Great cause... best of luck!

$211

Pierre & Vera Daher

$211

Anonymous

May your kindness and generosity bless many, many people, and may Sebastian’s memory encourage you to continue this fight. God bless you both.

$211

Elie & Rania

We are so proud of you for this physical feat and raising awareness of this important cause. God be with you on this challenging ride.

$211

Tony Saab

Wonderful effort today. So proud of this amazing team 💪

$211

Habib Saab

$211

Natalie Sande

So proud of you both and can’t wait to cheer you on at the finish line!! Love Nat xxx

$211

Natalie Saad

To Jano and Paul I’m so proud of you both best wishes always love you both Love Natalie Saad

$211

Danny Sande

Very proud of you both! Keep up the amazing work xx

$211

Andre &miray

$211

Keely Poon

A small gesture towards a humongous, worthy cause. My heart is with Sebastian’s family.

$211

Matthew & Maggie Khoury

$210

Suz Rowley

$210

Daas Jabbojr

$208

Powerline Construction

You guys are amazing. God bless your legs and asses xx

$208

Linda Elcham

Best of luck!

$201

Jake & Stephanie Matta

Great cause! Well done Paul & Jano xxx

$201

Danny, Tony And Dj Sande

So proud of you all xx

$201

Wmk Architecture

Thank you Jano and Paul for making a difference to so many peoples lives. Go well xo

$200.45

Anonymous

$168.80

Lina Nasr

$158.25

Elias Nasr

Good luck! Very proud of you.

$158.25

Chicco Boustani

Keep up the great work .. God bless 🙏

$156

Christina Boyd Jones

Well done for an amazing effort for Seb. Food incredible, thank you

$150

Pierre Khouzame

A great cause. Good on you all.

$107.50

Andrew Khoudeir

Great cause and fantastic initiative Paul and Jano. God Bless all the cyclist 🙏🏼

$105.50

Ryan Thomas

$105.50

Stephen Gallagher

$105.50

Leah Cleary

$105.50

Anonymous

$105.50

Lina Nasr

$105.50

Anonymous

You guys are amazing, God bless. 🙏

$105.50

Anonymous

$105.50

Ninachbob

Goodluck

$105.50

Andrew Murphy

$105.50

Melissa Chandler

Absolutely devasted to hear of Sebastian's passing - so much love to Richard and Belinda. Thank you to all for doing this as it is such a challenge

$105.50

Kate Langan

Great cause! Sorry we didn’t make it to cheer you on. Hope it all went well.

$105.50

Uncle Louis Raad

Well done to all. It's a great cause

$105.50

Jasna Sims

I am so sad to hear of Seb’s passing. My thoughts are with you Richard and Belinda and everyone impacted by this condition.

$105.50

Ron Hirst

Glad to support the Stafford family - Ron Hirst & Michele Corin

$105.50

Denise Yousseph

Paul & Jano ...very proud of you both Lots of love Mum

$105.50

Jessica G. Evans

❤️

$105.50

Christian Watts

Fantastic cause - all the best guys.

$105.50

Ashish Kulkarni

$105.50

Lourise Khoury

Great cause Jano and Paul. Much love to Richard and Belinda directly this difficult time…

$105.50

Oudai Awad

God bless

$105.50

Craig Warburton

$105.50

Freida Karam

You guys both have a heart of gold. Wishing you the very best on this ride.

$105.50

Peter Mccamley

$105.50

Paul Gilliland

sad news, Richard - can't begin to imagine what losing a child is like.

$105.50

Paul Mottek

What a fantastic thing to do in the memory of Sebastian. Our love goes out to you. Paul and Lyn

$105.50

Angela Roche

$105.50

Jarrod Faunt

Congratulations Moses and team on raising funds for a great cause. Being type 1 myself I can fully appreciate the struggles Seb would have gone through. Finding a cure is critical!

$105.50

Jackson Kimber

My hope and prayer is for researchers to find a cure and a cause.

$105.50

A&w Meller

Congratulations on your efforts with this wonderful cause X

$105.50

Rosemary Gereige

God bless you Jano This is such a big ride ❤️ Happy to donate for this worthy cause !! Good luck you are such a champion 😘😘

$105.50

Helga M

$105.50

Leisa Prowd

My 9yr old daughter was diagnosed with T1D when she was 6. I could never have imagined in a million years what this diagnosis would mean. Thank you for bringing this awareness to others in the community. It’s an exhausting and endless task trying to keep levels within range whilst managing day to day life in general. Support for people with T1D and carers of T1D is in great need . We can’t do this alone. Let’s get behind each other and help educate friends , family , schools etc as well as people in general what T1D is all about.

$105.50

Laila Zeynoun

$105.50

Sue Atwill

Hi Janno, Thank you for putting this together in remembrance of Sebastian whilst l think l might have briefly met him once, l worked with Richard for many years. I am sorry for Richard & Belinda’s loss. Thank you for your uplifting story it was very moving and a timely reminder of the fragility of life & the importance of family & looking out for each other. Kind Regards Sue Atwill

$105.50

Josh Read

Awesome Moses!

$105.50

Anonymous

$105.50

Michael Wood

$105.50

Andrew Tompson

$105.50

Sharon Eskell

My love for this worthy cause and memory

$105

Hana Fayad

Happy to help out a good cause

$105

Philip Harper

$104

Betissa Ryan

Sending lots of love to Sebastian’s family and friends

$104

Melanie Cochrane

Good luck and great cause. Go Moses!

$104

Maria Cozijnsen

$102

Joe Jabbour

All the best

$100

Mariam Sawaqed

$75

Ian Fortini

Great cause! Good luck

$52.75

Kath Cook

You are incredible people :)

$52.75

Anna Dowl

Backing you all the way!

$52.75

Peter Gore

All the best to all the riders on Sunday

$52.75

Cerulean

My father passed away from diabetes related kidney failure. As the mother of two children, losing a child is an unimaginable thought. Best wishes for ride & hope the target's met.

$52.75

Tom Gater

Hi Jano, Great initiative, can’t beat a good bike ride. My father had type 2, so I understand. Tom

$52.75

Anonymous

Great day for a ride guys and all the best!

$52.75

Amanda Fasavalu

$52.75

Olga Birrell

$52.75

Portia Pitt

$52.75

Grant And Bronwyn

Too far to ride from Melbourne but happy to contribute towards the cause and unfortunately will miss the Yousseph Bar BQ Grant & Bronwyn

$52.75

Carol Chen

All the best with the fundraiser event.

$52.75

Nina

$52.75

Natalie Brown

$52.75

Vatche Torossian

$52.75

Sarah Tozer

Bravo Paul & Jano and deepest condolences to you both Richard & Belinda. I hope you reach your fundraising goal, a very worthy cause

$52.75

Natasa Rikaloska

$52.75

Emily Masters

💪🏻

$52.75

Madonna Burrows

Wishing you all the best on Sebastian’s journey

$52.75

Elizabeth Younan

$52.75

Edison M

Keep on keeping on

$52.75

Francis Chew

All the best!

$52.75

Anonymous

$52.75

Maral Hovanessian

Good luck and hope to find a cure

$52.75

Con

$52.75

Nick Georgiou

$52.75

Vince Nigro

Im so proud to call you my friends. To stand up & do something of this nature for a good cause is noble indeed. It goes to the fabric of the both of you. Well done

$52.75

Anonymous

thank you and ride safely

$52.75

Jt

Thanks for shining a light on this! Ride well!

$52.75

Gerard Weilche

$52.75

Andrew Smith

Thankyou for taking on this wonderful act and wishing you all the best Jano & Paul. Our thoughts go out to the Stafford family through this journey and beyond.

$52.75

Beth Fechner

Great cause & Safe riding!

$52.75

Rob Vitale

Great work Paul and Jano. RV

$52

Anonymous

$52

Callan Stephen

A great effort for a great cause!

$52

Wendy Smith And Family Xxx

Thank you Jano and team for being super human to help an important cause. You put the KIND in humankind. I support you! xxxxx

$52

Billy Manning

Go big fella!

$26.38

Barbara Valentina Ruberto

$26.38

Tim Flakelar

$26.38

Mitchell A Page

$26.38

Elizabeth T

From one parent knowing all too well what it's like watching a grown son fight Type 1 to another, my heart goes out to you. All the best with your ride, I hope you reach your goal.

$26.38

Tony Chehade

Go well

$26.38

Alex Walter

Such a worthy endeavour which I am only too happy to support. We have close friends with a diabetic grandson and every year we go on a walk with them.

$26.38

Samantha

T1 for 36 years. The daily struggle is real and there is so much people don’t understand. Thank you for doing this.

$26.38

Frank Van Den Brink

Good Luck!!

$26

Penny Rye

$25

Dj

Natalie Rigby told me that if I didn't make a donation there would be consequences. I just didn't want to find out what they might be. Seriously...THANK YOU for doing this and good luck with the ambitious ride.

$25

Michael L

$1

Anonymous