Nathan Skewes training to walk from Melbourne to Ballarat to raise money for a family after a fatal train accident at Wallace.
TWO fundraising accounts have been set up to help support Ashleigh and William Skewes, who have lost both their parents in the past 12 months.
Their mother Belinda died of cancer in June last year and their father Nathan passed away from natural causes at the weekend, aged just 31.
The children, aged four and two, will now be cared for by both sets of grandparents.
Despite never having met the Skewes family, staff at the Commonwealth Bank in Sebastopol have set up an account which will then go into a trust fund set up by Nathan’s cousins, Skye Mannix-McCann and Luke Mannix, for education and health purposes.
Ms Mannix-McCann said staff at the bank had read about Nathan’s passing, which left the two children orphaned, and wanted to do something to help.
“The family is very appreciative of it,” Ms Mannix-McCann said.
A staff spokesperson said Nathan seemed the kind of person who would fundraise for others.
“I know anyone with a good heart would be happy to do the same,” the spokesperson said.
Ms Mannix-McCann said the family had been overwhelmed by the support they had been given.
“There are people who haven’t met Nathan but who have heard his story and offered their support.
“There are lots of messages on Facebook and people dropping into the house just wanting to help out.”
Ms Mannix-McCann said she and her brother, who works in finance, decided a trust fund would be the best way to help the children.
She said the fund would be administered by herself, Luke and Nathan’s older brother Adam Skewes.
“It’s purely for the education and health care needs of the kids as they grow up.”
The Nathan Skewes Family Fundraiser account number at the Commonwealth Bank is 1029 2333 and BSB 063 870.
The Ashleigh and William Skewes Trust is at the Victorian Teachers Mutual Bank. The account number is 239910 and the BSB is 704191.
Nathan’s funeral is expected to be held late next week.