Terry Campese's voice is booming with pure pride and joy.
He can't quite believe what's happened and he's pretty emotional about it.
"It's blown my mind," the former Raiders captain said, simple and to the point.
The fundraising idea he and best mate Jeremy Howell conjured up during their early morning drives to the gym has just raised more than $200,000. Way beyond the $25,000 they had hoped for.
The Terry Campese Foundation Special Forces Challenge, aka "Hell Weekend", kicks off on Saturday.
Inspired by the SAS Australia program, the challenge will see everyday Canberrans push themselves to the limit this weekend, spurned on by current and former military personnel, to complete excruciating tasks, all in the name of raising money for the foundation.
So far, more than $220,000 has been raised. And counting.
Terry and Jeremy are beyond ecstatic as the money will go to help everyone from those sleeping rough in Queanbeyan to disadvantaged kids from the region.
"It's about 200 Bunnings barbecues," Terry said, with a laugh.
And that goes to another reason they are so thrilled. Fundraising in the time of COVID has been almost impossible.
"All our events, golf days, balls, had been cancelled because of COVID," Terry said.
So their "charity meetings" became their pre-dawn drives to the gym at CrossFit SFS at Hume.
"Jeremy used to watch SAS Australia on TV and he'd get in the car every morning on the way to the gym impersonating Ant Middleton, ripping into me, trying to wake me up. And it just clicked one day. We said, 'Let's do an SAS challenge'," Terry said.
Terry ran the idea past good mate Will Honey from the Property Collective and within a week they had assembled a group of willing volunteers slash fundraisers.
All up, 25 recruits will take part in this weekend's challenge, which will include everything from abseiling and trekking in the bush behind Jerrabomberra to kayaking on the Queanbeyan River.
They will be assisted by the Canberra PCYC and members of the military - who will make sure to take no prisoners.
"There are 10 staff members and eight of them have been in the Special Forces. Some are still involved and can't be publicly identified because they still work in that space," Terry said.
"They've run army camps before for the Rabbitohs, done stuff for the AIS. So we've got the best of the best.
"So, yeah, it's all come together. The emotional rollercoaster we've been on for the last four months ... but to hit $200,000. I was definitely not as emotional when we hit $100,000. When we got 100 grand, there were tears. I've never seen Jezza cry, he thinks he's a hard nut. But we shared some tears."
Shane Tipa, director of the Birrabang Scaffolding Group, has raised the most so far - more than $30,000. But all the recruits have given their all, both in fundraising and getting physically ready for the challenge.
"One thing we didn't expect was the camaraderie it's built between the recruits," Terry said.
"They didn't know each other before this challenge and they've literally become best friends."
The Terry Campese Foundation has pledged money from the challenge to the Queanbeyan sleep bus for those sleeping rough and to Respite Care for QBN.
But most of the money raised will fund the foundation's annual 20-week mentor program for local young people in need, culminating with the "hike of a lifetime" on the Larapinta Trail in the Northern Territory.
"In 2022, we've got eight kids from Queanbeyan, Goulburn and Braidwood and we take them away for 10 days and we supply everything from their sleeping bags to their hiking boots," Terry said.
Some of the kids are recommended, others are put forward by organisations such as the PCYC and Barnardos Australia.
The foundation also tries to foster future leaders among the kids, to help fortify the future of their communities.
The success of the Special Forces Foundation has meant the Terry Campese Foundation can now plan ahead, rather than scrimp and scrape for money each year. They are making a difference.
"I love helping, I love putting a smile on someone's face, taking the kids away from whatever difficulty they are having in their life," Terry said.
"The mentor program doesn't make the biggest difference. The biggest difference happens on the trail. There's just something about being in nature, with no phones, no social media. Every single person is on the same level. The conversation is real and you just see the progression along the way.
"And on the last day, the kids have to talk about the difficulties in their life, get some serious things off their chest and it's just beautiful to be a part of."
And the Special Forces Challenge will be back next year.
"This is here for life," Terry said. "Until the day I die, me and Jezza will be doing this forever."
- Donate to your favourite recruit in the Terry Campese Foundation Special Forces Challenge here.
