Record breaking Run Frimley
Frimley Park Hospital Charity’s ambitious fundraising target of £750,000 towards a better equipped dedicated breast care centre is making excellent progress, thanks to great support from the community and the backing of the News & Mail
A massive fundraising effort by more than 130 students from one school has helped to make this year’s Run Frimley event a record breaker.
The £11,300 raised by 130 pupils of Cove School mean that road race and fun run event at Frimley Park in early May this year was the single biggest fundraiser the hospital’s charity has ever organised.
The total raised for the event has now eclipsed the previous best of £65,000 and organisers are expecting at least £2,000 more to come in the next few weeks. All the money will go towards the hospital charity’s Breast Care Appeal, which is looking to raise £750,000 towards a dedicated breast care clinic for patients who are undergoing diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer and conditions.
The success of this year’s event has also helped push the overall total raised up to July to £180,000.
In its ninth year in 2014, Run Frimley is a 10km road race and 2.5km fun run start-
similar ing and finishing at the hospital and taking in the surrounding streets.
The students at the St John’s Road School in Cove, Farnborough, were inspired to enter by their PE teacher Paula Hurst who battled cancer last year. The 130 students, staff and friends who rose to the challenge also represent the biggest number of entrants from one school.
When Paula heard that this year’s annual Run Frimley event would be for breast care at the hospital she looked to the students for support.
She said: “This was our way of saying thank you for the superb care and support received from all the team at Frimley Park when it was needed and is still being given a year on.”
Even she could not have imagined how many people from the school community would get behind it. As well as their entrance fees, most of those taking part raised extra sponsorship from family and friends, so the money quickly totted up. Consultant breast surgeon Mr Raouf Dauod and breast care specialist nurse Ruth O’Connor were delighted to be invited to the school earlier this month to accept a cheque for an incredible £11,300.
Fundraising manager Nick Le Resche said: “We have seen some pretty amazing fundraising efforts from supporters recently, but this was really something special.
“To have so many young people from the same school showing such brilliant support for the appeal was one of the most positive moments since we launched last year.”
Nick added that the Run Frimley 2014 was an event of superlatives. Not only has the total raised broken all records, but the number taking part – 1,770 – made it the single biggest participation event that the Frimley Park Charity had ever organised.
“I hope Cove School will enter Run Frimley next year, and maybe they will inspire other local schools to take part too. With that kind of support I’m confident that the 10th annual Run Frimley in 2015 will be even bigger and better,” added Nick.