Some of you may remember that last year Spindogs had a goal of raising £10,000 for charity and, with a little help from friends, family and clients, we successfully reached our target.
For a small team of creatives we thought £10,000 was a lot to raise, but we were determined and threw ourselves into sponsored runs, zip wires , fire walks and even a bake off or two.
This year we have a new challenge, a bigger challenge, and a challenge that is a lot closer to home. This challenge is to help Paula Paddick, our Finance Manager, so that her family can raise enough money for her granddaughter to have a life changing operation in America.
Why we want to help:
Ellie is 6 years old and suffers from cerebral palsy in her legs. Due to the severity of the pain in her legs Ellie can only walk short distances before needing to use her wheelchair, and as you can imagine this has had a huge impact on her childhood.
Ellie’s family have found an operation called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) that can help Ellie to lead a full and active life. This surgery has proven very effective for permanently reducing spasticity in children with cerebral palsy, especially those with spastic diplegia which is what Ellie has. Unfortunately this operation is not available on the NHS so Ellie and her family need to travel to St Louis in America and will need to raise £45,000 to pay for the operation.
How we are going to help:
At Spindogs we love a challenge and we have promised to help Paula raise as much money as we can to help Ellie with her trip. Consequently, we have decided to become involved in two very different fundraising activities.
Ready…Set…Gung-Ho!
The first challenge that the Spindogs team will be participating in is Gung-Ho. This is a 5k obstacle race that will take place in Bute Park on Saturday May 21st. It is made up of 10 huge inflatable obstacles and the last obstacle is Europe’s biggest ever inflatable slide! As you can imagine this is going to be quite a challenge for us!
So come rain, wind or shine, 12 of the team will be testing their fitness levels with Gung-Ho and we will be asking everyone we know to sponsor us so that we can raise as much money as possible for Paula and Ellie.
We know that a number of our clients are also taking part in this, so make sure you give us a shout if you see us running around the course, or alternatively give us a push if you see us stuck on one of the inflatables!
Lets get quizzical!
Now for all those people who would rather use their brain than their legs, we will be hosting a special Quiz Night.
Do you know your Disney from your Pixar? Your rugby from your tennis? If yes, then it’s time to get quizzical with the Spindogs team on Thursday 26th May!
We are looking for teams of up to 6 people to take on the challenge and join us for a fun filled quiz evening that will be great for networking and will raise money for Ellie.
Tickets for this event will cost £10 p/p and it will take place at Jolyons on Cathedral Road, with all proceeds going towards Ellie and her operation.
If you are keen to get involved in the quiz or sponsor our Gung Ho challenge please email [email protected] for more information.
If you would like to donate to support the team in our challenges please visit Ellie’s Spindogs JustGiving page!