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Students ‘smashed’ £1k target at St Francis’ Race For Life

Students at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School in Crawley held their very own Race for Life event on Friday (22 June) and smashed their target, raising over £1,500 so far for Cancer Research UK.

Published

2 years ago

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Kellyann McGovern, mother of year 1 student, Macaragh and part of the PFA committee.

While many Crawley residents were readying themselves for the Tilgate Race for Life, which took place on Saturday (23 June), one school was already running.

I was welcomed into St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School with smiles; I could tell straight away I was in a real tight-knit, friendly school.

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There was a buzz of excitement in the air – and it wasn’t coming from the bees that were out on such a beautiful sunny day – as the school was just about ready to begin its own Race for Life.

The Crawley Town FC mascot, Reggie the Red, attended the event too. and this only added to the excitement.

Students were excited to meet Reggie the Red.

Students were showing off their dance moves and exchanging high-fives with Reggie, who even joined in on the run!

Emma Piggott, Secretary for the Parents & Friends Association (PFA) at St. Francis said:

“The PFA are providing tea, coffee and cakes as well as volunteers for the water station and martialling. All profits made today go to Cancer Research UK.

“The initial target was £1,000 but we’ve gone straight through that so we’re hoping to get to £2,000.

“The students cannot wait, I’ve got two children here and they’re so excited. They’re dressing up today, dying their hair and there’s just this real excitement.

“It’s the second year we’ve run it and this year it looks a lot bigger. The organisation is brilliant, it looks great out there today and the kids all look great because they’ve dressed up this year and it’s nice to see all the parents coming and supporting it.

“It’s a real community feel and it gets everyone in school to see what’s going on and raising money.”

Kellyann McGovern, mother of year 1 student, Macaragh was on hand to help out:

“My son is here doing one of the races and he is so excited about it.

“Every child got a sponsor form and also we did an online sponsorship. Last time I checked we smashed our £1,000 target.

Kellyann is part of the PFA committee and helps out at a lot of the school events. This time, she was helping on the water station.

“The PFA committee ourselves do a lot of behind-the-scenes work, as in getting things set up but the school, and the teachers, have done the most fantastic job on getting obviously the race set up itself and everything laid out. They’ve done a brilliant job.

“A lot of work goes into it, but it’s well worth it for a good cause. I think dressing in pink was one of the most exciting things for them today! We’ve got some lovely outfits as you can see – including myself, I’ve got into the spirit of it too as you can see.”

Tim Hallett, Headteacher at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School, said:

“In summary this is just typical of our school community, how we come together, throughout the school year and support so many important causes.

“Today is just one example of that – supporting Cancer Research, a very important charity – and the children are clearly enjoying themselves. It’s a wonderful afternoon, the parents have come in full support and we’re having a fabulous afternoon.”

Students ran different distances depending on their year group – with many running a fantastic 3km!

And they’re off! Students (and some parents) begin the run!

Year 4 teacher, Olly Lambert, put a huge amount of effort into preparing for the day and continued to do so throughout the event.

He said:

“The children and parents who took part were superb and the day was a massive success, the staff and everyone involved made it so easy to run. It was fantastic seeing everyone take part for a great cause and the whole community come together.

“We have currently raised £1600 for cancer research and donations are still coming in so hoping to break the £2000 mark! Personally like to thank the PFA and all the staff who helped to make the event run smoothly.”

Mr. Lambert’s Year 4s – cheering on their friends.

There’s still time to donate to the cause, just click here to go to the school’s fundraising page.

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Crawley firefighters undertake marathon walk in memory of fallen colleague

Published

3 weeks ago

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23rd July 2020

By

Some of the team from Crawley Fire Station with the training mannequins.

Firefighters from Crawley Fire Station are preparing to make their way to the seaside on foot in memory of a much-loved former colleague.

But the 20 firefighters won’t be completing the walk to Brighton seafront on their own, as they will be carrying a few training dummies with them, weighing in at around 30kg.

They will be raising money for The Fire Fighters Charity and The Stroke Association in memory of former Watch Manager Simon Constable who passed away in April 2019 having suffered a stroke. Simon served with WSFRS for 29 years.

The crew have been busy training for the 30 mile walk, which they will complete on Saturday 8 August, and are hoping to smash their fundraising target along the way.

Green Watch Manager Neil Fairhall said:

“With it almost being the summer holidays, we thought what better way to raise some money for two fantastic causes than a jolly down to the seaside? Though I imagine after a couple of miles in carrying those training dummies, the walk will be anything but jolly.

“But the whole point of this fundraiser is to push ourselves, and hopefully raise a decent amount of money for The Fire Fighters Charity and The Stroke Association.

“Both charities mean a lot to us at Crawley Fire Station – The Fire Fighters Charity provides a real lifeline for serving and former firefighters in their hour of need, and The Stroke Association does some fantastic work to support those affected by stroke. Having lost Simon last year, this is extremely poignant for us as a watch and station, and we hope to raise a worthy amount in his memory.”

The challenge comes after all fire stations within West Sussex were challenged by Station Manager Phil Maynard to come up with innovative ways of raising money for The Fire Fighters Charity, which supports serving and former firefighters as well as their families in times of need.

Phil has set the county’s 25 fire station’s the ambitious target of raising £25,000 by the end of the year for the charity. Already, the East Grinstead crew have managed to raise £1,670 for the charity after climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest in the station yard.

To support the Crawley crew in their fundraising efforts visit: https://www.justgiving.com/team/Crawleyfirestation?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=team&utm_content=Crawleyfirestation&utm_campaign=pfp-tweet&utm_term=d18daf1ece7847a8b62aaeec665ad509 

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