Staff and pupils at Royal Russell
School in Coombe Lane, South Croydon, are rallying to raise money and awareness
for the Motor Neurone Disease Association following a request by PE teacher
Sarah Culliford whose brother, Andrew, is suffering from this terminal illness.
Sarah, 25,
wanted to do something positive to help Andrew and the MND Association
charity which is supporting him through his
illness. She asked the School if it
could help stage a fund-raising event and suggested pupils and staff sponsored
a school team to walk all or some of the 66 mile Vanguard Way which runs from Croydon
to Newhaven. Sarah gave an assembly to
the 600 Royal Russell senior school pupils in which she asked them to consider
what they could do to show their support.
“The response
was phenomenal with 250 staff and pupils dedicating the weekend of June 14-16
to a fundraising effort which we have called the Vanguard Challenge,” says
Sarah. “The scale of this is beyond my
expectations and I’m humbled by the School’s support of Andrew, our family and
the charity.”
Over one third
of the pupils have since signed up to complete a physical feat of endurance.
“We gave the pupils the idea of the ’66 miles from sea to school’ and explained
that the Vanguard Way is a challenging
route to follow on foot or by bike,” says Deputy Headmaster David
Selby. “I was astounded, not only by the
sheer numbers pledging to walk, run and cycle some or all of the distance, but
by the individual ideas in which the challenge could be developed. We even have a group horse riding!”
Other
interpretations of the ‘66’ include such diverse events as a 6.6 hour
Zumbathon, a 66 mile ski trip and kayak route.
More unusually, an afternoon of abseiling down the School Chapel tower
has been organised and Portia Bean, 17, is baking and selling themed cupcakes. Even the very young children aged four to 10
in the Junior School are taking part, with many walking three miles alongside
their parents and teachers.
The majority
of the senior school pupils are tackling a six or 12 mile walk or run on the
Sunday but a few are literally going the extra miles. Jack Stone, 14, will complete a 66 mile swim
in the School pool on the final day of the Challenge and two members of staff
and two parents are aiming to run the whole 66 miles on the Sunday. Forty pupils and staff are walking the full
distance, covering 22 miles each day and camping en route.
All the
money raised will go to the Motor Neurone Disease Association to help fund its research
and care for sufferers like Andrew.
Motor Neurone Disease is not widely understood. Sufferers have a life expectancy from one to
five years from diagnosis and their symptoms develop in different ways. What is common to all is the slow paralysis
of the body as their motor neurone pathways become affected. Often it starts in their fingers or toes and gradually
progresses to their limbs. When the
disease reaches their mouth/throat, sufferers find it hard to swallow or
speak. Eventually, the lungs are
affected and the sufferer passes away.
“Motor
Neurone Disease is a truly debilitating illness for which there is currently no
cure,” says Helena Maliniak, MND Association regional fundraiser for London. “We are working tirelessly to raise awareness, encourage more drug trials
and educate people so they can understand the plight of those affected,” she
says. “We are totally reliant on
fundraising. The Royal Russell School Vanguard
Challenge is on a scale not often seen by the MND Association: we are truly grateful for the
School’s support of Andrew and Sarah.”
