Meet our youngest fundraiser at the Together Trust
The London Marathon is one of the most significant fundraising events every year. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was cancelled which disappointed thousands of runners. Along with this, many charities across the UK have been left struggling to raise vital funds to support their work.
The 2.6 Challenge was launched on 26 April (the original date for The London Marathon) as an alternative to not only the marathon runners but anyone to get in involved and help the UK's charities in this hard time. To complete the challenge, participants had to think of any activity based around the numbers 26 or 2.6 and raise money for their chosen charity – so simple!
This was when we met our youngest fundraiser ever at the Together Trust - Florence. She was only 15 weeks old when she took the challenge with one of her favourite hobbies - dancing to Flo's favourite song "Funky Veggies" by Hey Bear Sensory. Her mums, Lucy and Keeley, discovered the tune when Flo was only a week old and as they say, "she was mesmerised by it". What's even more exciting, Hey Bear Sensory have kindly sponsored Flo and sent her a message of support which the whole family was very excited by.
Of course, our little hero took part in the challenge with her mums, Lucy and Keeley, who have been dancing with their baby since Flo was tiny and it is something that always makes her smile. However, this is not the only thing that cheers her up! Flo is full of fun things to do - listening to stories, playing with her toys Darius and Dave the octopuses and playing with their dog, Norman.
When she is not on mat leave, Lucy is the Head of Fundraising at the Together Trust, and about Flo's participation in the challenge, Lucy says:
"I wanted Flo to understand the importance of supporting charities and to experience what her mummy does so we thought the 2.6 challenge was the perfect opportunity to give Flo her first experience of fundraising and how diverse and creative it can be. We enjoyed helping her use something she likes doing to help others."
Flo's participation in the challenge provoked powerful, positive emotions and massive interest from the audience, which were more than generous and supportive of Flo. Her tender age didn't stop her from smashing and exceeding her target, which initially was £26 but in the end, Flo raised £135!
We're so grateful and proud of Flo and her lovely mums for taking on the challenge and supporting us. But also, we thank their generous and kind family and friends who cheered up on Flo and gave to us so we keep providing life-changing support and care to thousands of young people and adults every year.