Libby’s £1,000 challenge to help animals
AYOUNG schoolgirl has embarked on a demanding New Year’s resolution – to spend 2018 raising £1,000 for an animal charity.
Libby Cantwell, 11, of Reddish, will spend 12 months completing a series of sponsored challenges in aid of the RSPCA.
She has just completed the first, which was a hike up Great Gable, a mountain in the Lake District which is the seventh highest in England, in snow and ice.
Further challenges will include swimming, cycling, abseiling and baking.
Libby, who attends Reddish Vale School, said: “The reason why I am trying my best to help the RSPCA is because animal cruelty upsets me. I love any animal big or small,creepy or crawly.
“I want to help in anyway I can to make sure all of the abused animals have a happier, brighter life and future. Also, what greater love can you get than from a loving pet?
“They make great companions for millions of people. For many, animals such as dogs provide a lifeline and give hope back to those who are vulnerable such as the visually impaired.”
Libby, whose favourite animals are cats, has already raised around £350 for the RSPCA - an organisation she wants to work for when she is older.
She is also getting in contact with the nearby Morrison’s supermarket to arrange bag packs to raise further funds.
Such is her love for animals she has been a zookeeper for a day at Flamingoland, in Blackpool, and hosted parties with TV star Crocodile Joe.
Libby lives on Marland Crescent with mum Leanne, 34, dad Ryan, 33, her brother and two cats.
Leanne said: “This is no one-off sprint for Libby she will be taking on various challenges throughout the whole year.
“She asked if she could kick-start her campaign by hiking a mountain with me.
“The hike up Great Gable was -14 degrees with the windchill but she kept herself going by saying she was doing it for the animals.
“It was genuinely inspirational to watch her, in the end she was tired but elated.
“I can’t put into words how proud I am of her.”
Anyone who wishes to sponsor Libby can visit https://uk.virgin moneygiving.com/LeanneCantwell1.