I think you’ll probably agree, it’s really nice to hear tales of fundraising efforts and donations being made across the country at the minute, especially during these weird and whacky times – what’s even more heart warming is to be on the receiving end of one of those beautiful donations.
We’ve just had a whooping £20,000 donated to Superhero Foundation! I know, ridiculous isn’t it?! It’s pretty darn amazing and it’s all down to the hard work and support from the SGS College Learners and Staff.
Here’s a video of me sharing the good news:
Our story with SGS college
A few years ago, I was asked to speak at SGS college. My brief was to lift the students spirits and wellbeing so they’d keep studying (we don’t want lazy students now, do we?). Kidding aside, it was to also motivate some students who had failed their GCSE’s – to go back and retake them. Something I have personal experience of because I retook some of mine when I was 23 years old. Scary times!
Anyway, since that day, SGS college has made me feel like part of their family – and that’s really saying something, considering they have over 15,000 students and staff. It’s a big family alright!
So I feel really blessed that they chose Superhero Foundation as their ‘Charity of the Year’ and even more blessed that I was able to share the story of one family we were working with, so that the donation could go to a very special girl…
Amelias Dream to Walk story
Amelia-Rose was diagnosed with Spastic Paraplegia (HSP) as a baby. It’s a rare degenerative disease that means she suffers with pain in her legs and has limited use of them. Doctors said that she would likely end up in a wheelchair.
Mum Tanya and Dad Ben have been fundraising for Amelia for over three years now – Ben even took on a huge 300km trek – (which he did in just three days!). Thanks to funds raised from inspiring challenges like Ben’s, the family reached a massive £80,000 fundraising target and Amelia-Rose was able to receive a life changing operation in the America.
The operation was a success and Amelia is now starting to show signs that she’ll be able to walk in the future – currently using sticks to support her steps. She has great plans to walk her younger sister to school when this virus is over. That’s just the start of her dream – which is eventually to walk completely unaided.
Of course all dreams take hard work. To keep Amelia healthy, well and on track, she’s been having regular physiotherapy – something which will need to continue for years to come and which of course, comes at a cost. Which is where SGS and their generous donation comes in…
Target Hit
The £20,000 SGS donation means that the family has hit their £100,000 total target and can support Amelia Rose’s therapy for the next few important years of her life. It’s brought a huge amount of relief to her parents, and taken the pressure off their need to fundraise constantly.
At this uncertain time, the donation has given one very special little girl some stability that was so desperately needed. And that makes my heart swell.
What did I learn from all this?
The biggest learning for me is that this was all able to happen thanks to being a part of a small, close-knit community. I never imagined that it would lead to such a big donation – but when amazing human connections are built, great things can happen.
Even with all the corona virus malarkey going on was clear that the college just wanted to help and they most certainly did, spectacularly! When I messaged Sara-Jane Watkins (SGS Principal) to say ‘are you kidding?!’ Her response was, ‘we couldn’t let you down.’
If your heart is a little warmer for reading this story, then please do share it around. And if you didn’t watch the video at the top, you can here.
Again, thank you SGS college!
Over and out, Adventureman x