Our Fundraisers
We are so grateful to all of our fundraisers who get involved in all sorts of ways to help our work supporting carers.
Jo’s Challenge for Carers
Jo Egan, Care for the Carers Director of Services, and her family walked the 100-mile South Downs Way from Winchester to Eastbourne raising an amazing £2,704.
Jo, has worked for Care for the Carers since 2016, and has experience during her teenage years of caring for her mum, who had mental and physical health problems.
Jo says, “Dealing with Mum’s agoraphobia and poor mobility was tough, but it was nothing compared to the challenges faced by the carers our team speak to every day – they come to us isolated, unsupported, at breaking point and not knowing where to turn.
At the end of the challenge Jo said, “When we came up with this crazy idea, we thought we might raise maybe a few hundred quid, so we’ve been truly humbled to have such wonderful support from friends, family, and members of the public, and raising so much for Care for the Carers.”
Jennifer’s Pedal to Paris
Care for the Carers Chief Executive Jennifer Twist cycled from East Sussex to Paris in memory of her father Keith Twist and raised a wonderful £1,940.
Jennifer says, “I’ve wanted to take on a challenge for Care for the Carers for a while, so our 30th anniversary year had to be the time to go for it!
My Dad was a carer, and he chose to support Care for the Carers through the collection at his funeral, so it seems fitting to take on this challenge in his memory. Helping to care for Dad at the end of his life gave me an insight into the challenges faced by local carers every day.
Caring is a part of most of our lives these days, but it can be incredibly isolating, exhausting and demanding. Often when you’re caring for a loved one, your own life is on pause. We meet so many people who are really struggling – with their health, their finances, or the emotional impact of caring. Not enough carers know that there is help out there, and that they are entitled to support.
At Care for the Carers, we’re proud to be there when local carers most need help, but there is much more to do to ensure that no-one is left to care alone. I’m taking on this challenge to do my bit in making it happen.”
Young Adult Carers’ Gauntlet Games
A group of young adult carers, who are supported through the young adult carers service, took part in the Gauntlet Games (a 5k obstacle course in Brighton), and raised a brilliant £445.
The young adult carers say, “As young adult carers we all know how it feels to be responsible for somebody else’s care. We know how exhausting it can be, how much it can impact on other areas of your life and how sometimes people don’t understand this.
The Young Adult Carers (YAC) group run by Care for the Carers really helps us as it gives us the chance to spend time together, hang out and have fun, and be supported in our caring role. We have decided as a group to take on this challenge as we want to ensure that the YAC group can keep running. We also want to help Care for the Carers to provide more unpaid carers with the support they need.”
Caroline’s London Marathon
Caroline, who works as a Legal Secretary at our charity partner Heringtons, became our first ever London Marathon runner and raised an incredible £2,553.
Caroline says, “I had not heard of Care for the Carers until Heringtons, my employer, started working with the charity earlier in the year. Care for the Carers came to our Hastings office to introduce themselves to us, and it was from that meeting that I learned about the invaluable work they do with unpaid carers across East Sussex. The personal stories of some of the carers were truly moving and prompted me to want to help the charity.”
2.6 Challenge
As part of the response to the coronavirus Care for the Carers took part in this national event, organised by the London Marathon. The Challenge replaced the cancelled marathon and asked people across the UK to get involved in an activity of their choice based around the numbers 2.6 or 26 and fundraise for their chosen charity.
Many Care for the Carers supporters got involved, including Scarlett, Amy, Elaine, Mat, Ali, Chris, Jenny, Laura, Leila, Jennifer and Steph. They raised over £800 in total. Challenges included, skipping for 2.6 minutes, a ‘virtual marathon relay’ on the day of the London Marathon, walking, doing star jumps and the awesome Scarlett who did 26 routines in 26 minutes, all in aid of unpaid carers.
Amy, one of our virtual marathon relayers, says, “This was a really fun challenge to get involved in, we could pick whatever we liked, and do it within our capabilities, you could get really creative with it. I loved being part of this team, and helping to raise awareness for unpaid carers- especially during this crisis, when they are taking on so much and their voices need to be heard”
If you would like to fundraise for us, have a fundraising idea, or can raise money by participating in a challenge or event, please do get in touch with us. Find out other ways to support us.