STAFF at Willows Veterinary Centre have raised more than £3,500 for Cancer Research UK after doing a fund-raising charity run in memory of the late Captain Sir Tom Moore.
Organiser Alessandra Mathis, head of anaesthesia at Willows, said the sad passing of Captain Sir Tom, who gained worldwide fame with his sponsored walk which raised a staggering £39m for the NHS, had been their inspiration.
“We felt he deserved to be honoured by all of us,” she said.
“Initially, we didn’t think we would raise much (if any) money for charity, the main motivation was purely to show how much Captain Tom has inspired us all.
“I invited everyone at Willows to join the run – the response was tremendous, with 24 runners in total.
“We all ran as far as we could over the weekend and pushed ourselves hard to honour this amazing gentleman.
“In total, we covered a combined 387km, not forgetting the 60km run by the dogs of Willows’ team members!”
Aiming low, staff at the Highlands Road practice in Shirley had set a target of £200, but in the end smashed that total – with more money still rolling in.
“We chose Cancer Research as it is a charity close to our hearts after the loss of a dear colleague and friend,” said Alessandra.
“We’re also well aware that during this year of pandemic, cancer has not stopped and families and friends have still been diagnosed with this terrible disease, so we wanted to support them as much as possible.
“We have all been very proud to take part and deeply touched by the generosity of everyone.
“I know it looks like we raised a lot but it is still a drop in the ocean in the fight against cancer, so if any further donations would be hugely appreciated by everyone at Willows.”
To donate, visit: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/team/willows-runners.
For more on Willows visit www.willows.uk.net.
