After the passing of their grandfather, Tez, to Leukaemia in 2009, Amy and her cousin, Sarah Kilner, embarked on a money raising mission for the charity Bloodwise in his memory. Bloodwise (formerly known as Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research), was founded in 1960 and has since grown to become a national organisation with over 150 local fundraising groups and six offices across the UK. The charity funds world-class research and offers expert information and support to anyone affected by leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancer related disorders.
2016 marks their seventh year of fundraising for Bloodwise and participating in the Great North Run, which is one of the biggest half marathons in the world. This year, Amy and her cousin Sarah will be joined by six others on the 13.1 mile run from Newcastle to South Shields.
Amy commented: “In recent years I have come to know too many individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer. Our money is crucial to charities like Bloodwise to help fight cancer – they may one day be helping us. We aim to raise as much money as possible to help fund research into early diagnosis, treatment and care of those diagnosed with this truly awful blood cancer and their families. I would like to thank everybody who has supported us so far.”
To date, the girls have raised in excess of £10,000 for Bloodwise by participating in the run and by organising charity race nights. This year’s charity race night, held on the 12th August, raised more than £1700. It was decided that the money would be split between two charities: Bloodwise and The Christie Foundation, as a close friend is currently being treated for ovarian cancer at the Christie Hospital in Manchester.
If you would like to sponsor Amy and the team, please visit their justgiving page. Good luck to Amy and the team!