Susan leaps into action to raise cash for charity
A MUM who lost her husband to lymphoma has launched a fundraiser for children to enjoy while they are stuck in lockdown.
Susan Hartley, 54, a yoga teacher from Bury, started the ‘leap for lymphoma’ campaign after her husband Paul passed away last year at the age of 53.
Her event was due to be rolled out in schools across the region but due to the spread of coronavirus, Susan is encouraging people to do it at home.
The initiative encourages families to jump or ‘leap’ 27 times, to raise awareness that someone is diagnosed with blood cancer every 27 minutes in the UK.
Families are encouraged to film themselves doing the challenge, while donating one pound to Lymphoma Action – a charity close to Susan’s heart.
Dad-of-three Paul worked as an engineer for Reach Printing Services until he was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2018. He sadly passed away from the disease last year.
Since her husband was diagnosed with blood cancer, Susan has been determined to raise vital funds for the charity which helped her and Paul.
“Paul was very well respected in his job and in life – people always said he made an impact because he was such a nice bloke,” Susan said.
“I wanted to do something while he was ill because before he was diagnosed we didn’t know anything about lymphoma. The only place we could find information was through Lymphoma Action. It’s a brilliant trust but they have been in a bit of funding crisis – particularly now.”
Susan thought of the exercise bunny hops, with the aim to get people to jump 27 times – to raise awareness of the disease.
“I piloted it with some schools and it was great,” Susan said. “The idea was that if everyone just donated a pound, it would go a really long way.
“We wanted to start rolling it out across Greater Manchester and we were going to do it at Easter but obviously coronavirus has stopped everything. I thought, why not just do it virtually instead. The idea is get people out on their drives doing it, filming it, or even doing a Facebook Live.
“This is giving the children something to look forward to as their traditional group egg hunts are not possible.
“This must be a terrifying time for people with lymphoma and the support offered by this charity is immense – I know that first hand.”
● You can find out more information about ‘leap for lymphoma’ at https:// lymphoma-action.org.uk/leap-lymphoma