Zachary’s mum pounds the pavements to raise money for The Sick Children’s Trust

A local Mum is lacing up her trainers to take part in this year’s Great North Run to thank The Sick Children’s Trust for keeping her close to her son’s hospital bedside.

Elle Conroy, along with friends Rebecca Harrington and Jonathan Barry, will be running the UK’s most iconic half marathon on Sunday 9 September to raise vital fund for The Sick Children’s Trust.

The Sick Children’s Trust is a charity that supports families with free ‘Home from Home’ accommodation when their children are seriously ill in hospital. Elle and her husband Peter, from Redcar, were supported at the charity’s Crawford House, located at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) when their son was diagnosed with haemophilia and required specialist treatment. Crawford House is just a few minutes’ walk from the children’s unit and provides families with a private bedroom and access to communal areas where they can cook meals and relax away from the ward. Elle and Peter have been supported there on two occasions since one year old Zachary was born. Mum Elle hopes to raise £1,000 for The Sick Children’s Trust as thanks for its support. She says:

“For the last year, we have been busily fundraising for Crawford House to say thank you for keeping us by Zachary’s hospital bedside. It’s been a great comfort, we were simply taken in and didn’t have to worry about anything – we could just focus on our son.

“I really wanted to take part in the Great North Run to help raise awareness of the charity and more money. I was delighted when Zachary’s Godmother, Becky, agreed to run it with me! Training is going well so far, we’re really looking forward to doing the run and raising lots of money!”

Crawford House is one of ten ‘Homes from Home’ run by The Sick Children’s Trust across the country. In the last year, the ‘Home from Home’ has supported over 300 families with children undergoing treatment at RVI.

Elle, Rebecca and Jonathan will join 50 other runners as part of #TeamSCT to raise funds for The Sick Children’s Trust. Regional Fundraising Officer, Emily Corney, says:

“We’re so grateful to Elle, her family and friends for all the support they have given Crawford House so far. Although we provide the accommodation free of charge, it costs the charity £30 to support a family for one night and we rely entirely on voluntary donations.

“We can’t thank Elle, Rebecca and Jonathan enough for choosing to take on the Great North Run for The Sick Children’s Trust – the money they’ll raise will make a huge difference to families with seriously ill children in hospital. We wish them the best of luck!”

To donate to Elle and Rebecca’s page, visithttps://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/elle-rebeccaand todonate to Jonathan’s page, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jonathan-barry4.