By Sanya Sunil, Secretary of the Dartford Youth Council
Over the past few weeks, fourteen Dartford Youth Council members participated in a 1k+ festive fundraising walk to raise money for ellenor, a local charity providing hospice care for people of all ages whilst supporting families facing terminal illness in Kent and Bexley.
The walk was completed independently by members or with individuals within their household during the Christmas holidays. Members worked hard to find sponsors who donated money through the JustGiving page. The fundraiser was also advertised on the Dartford Youth Council website.
As part of ellenor’s Accumulator challenge, DYC members managed to raise £325 through all the generous donations provided by friends and family. ellenor is the only charity in Kent to provide hospice care for people of all ages. Their care includes pain and symptom relief, palliative care, end of life care, respite, bereavement support and emotional and spiritual care.
Newly-elected DYC member and participant Rejina Ghale commented, “It was genuinely so lovely to do this, especially in these circumstances, hopefully there will be more to look forward to in the future!”
Melissa Bourne, the local ellenor supporter engagement officer worked closely with us to make this walk possible.
She added: “It is wonderful to see such an enthusiastic group of students from around Dartford keen to take on a fundraising challenge for their local hospice. Having met the students virtually to give them some inspiration earlier this year, they decided on their challenge, set up a JustGiving page and were obviously fantastic at gaining sponsorship as they raised a brilliant £325. The festive walk was a brilliant way for all of the students to take part as they could do this on their own or as part of a family group.
The funds raised from the walk could help ellenor to provide six hours of physiotherapy to support a patient at home.
Fundraising has been extremely difficult this year, but the students were able to come up with a brilliant idea that they were able to adapt to suit the restrictions they faced. I am very much looking forward to seeing what other innovative fundraising ideas they come up with over the next few months.”
Dartford Youth Council is a group of young people aged 18 and under who get involved within their community, work alongside the Dartford Borough Council, making a difference through campaigning and volunteering and gaining skills that could benefit themselves for the rest of their lives.
Dartford Youth Council Vice Chairman Zapran Carlsson also worked closely as part of the fundraising initiative, commenting:
“It was a great delight to see so many of our members participating in the fundraising walk for ellenor. Together, we raised an exceptional amount of £325 in total, an amount far greater than what we had hoped for! Well done everybody!”
All donations are much appreciated by the DYC Team and can be made by accessing our website at www.dartfordyouthcouncil.com.