Dare to Cure: Assistant Sydney chief executive and former Tamworth schoolgirl Sarah Bolitho raises funds for Children's Cancer Institute

But when former McCarthy Catholic College student Sarah Bolitho learned her best friend Danica Isaac's two-year-old son Leo had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukaemia, she didn't hesitate to dive in.

The now chief executive of Assistant Sydney, Ms Bolitho will take part in Dare to Cure to raise funds for the Children's Cancer Institute.

"We're a tight group of girlfriends who all went to McCarthy," Ms Bolitho said.

"One minute we were in Sydney celebrating Danica's 30^th and a month later we got a message to say life was going to change dramatically because Leo had been diagnosed with leukaemia.

"From there she had to put her life on hold to spend the next six months at John Hunter Hospital for Leo to get treatment."

It's the first time Ms Bolitho will take part in the event.

The dares can be anything from an athletes ice bath, a snake bath, a head shave, walking on fire and glass, the mystery box bug challenge or an extreme fitness challenge.

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The Children's Cancer Institute is down $8 million in funds because COVID-19 restrictions have caused events to be cancelled.

The crisis has caused a huge setback for vital research, Ms Bolitho said.

"This year has been such a hard year for families, I cannot imagine having to go through the pressure of a global pandemic and then having financial and emotional worries and a sick child as well," she said.

"We know it's a hard year to give back but these causes don't go away, and the research is incredible so it's an amazing cause to get behind."

To donate visit https://www.ceodaretocure.org.au/my-fundraising/180/sarah-bolitho