Brother and sister team up to raise £14,683 for the Friarage!
The siblings took on fundraising challenges in memory of their Granny, Sheila Trenholme
We recently welcomed brother and sister dream-team Alex and Helana Dowd over to the Friarage Hospital to thank them for their enormous fundraising efforts for our charity in August and September.
Taking on separate challenges in memory of their Granny, Sheila, who sadly passed away at the beginning of this year, they wanted to give back to the staff who cared for her on the Rutson Ward following her stroke.
First up, Helana ran the Henley River Half Marathon on 30th August. She set an ambitious fundraising target of £2,500 but ended up raising a whopping £7,288. The half-marathon was a first for Helana, and although the route was hillier than imagined, it hasn’t put her off and she has already signed up for another one next year!
Two weeks after Helana's run, on 13th September, Alex took on the mighty Rat Race Coast to Coast challenge in Scotland in which participants run, cycle and kayak 100 miles from Cawdor Castle near Inverness on the east coast to Glen Coe in the west. Also setting a target of £2,500 Alex then smashed this by raising an incredible £7,395! Not only was this an astonishing amount raised but a huge achievement for Alex, as he finished the gruelling event in 12 hours, 28 minutes, which placed him in the top 20%! What an amazing result!
With those two fantastic amounts that means that between them, Alex and Helana have raised a staggering £14,683 to go to Rutson Ward.
It was heartwarming to be able to welcome Alex, Helana and their family back to the hospital where they got to speak to the ward staff and thanked them for the care and compassion they showed towards Sheila and the family during the number of weeks she was treated there. Liz Haresign, Rutson Ward Manager said,
"Thank you to Alex and Helana for undertaking fund raising for the Rutson ward and stroke services. The whole team and myself are genuinely humbled by the total amount donated due to your efforts. This money will be used to make a difference to patient experience, by supporting staff to attend training and buying new equipment - we have a lot of ideas for its use. Thank you"