Braintree care homes go the extra mile to raise money for colleague with cancer

Staff from The New Deanery show their support for the Anthony Nolan charity by walking on their treadmill

Submitted by Sonnet Care Homes

Staff at two Braintree care homes have gone above and beyond on behalf of one of their colleagues who has been diagnosed with blood cancer.

To help raise the thousands of pounds needed for stem cell transplants, the teams at both the New Deanery and St Mary's Court care homes in Bocking, near Braintree, Essex, have taken on and completed the Anthony Nolan Zero to Hero challenge.

Every staff member signed up to run 30 miles over the course of  January and one team member, Nikki Wheeler, even decided to run 30 miles every week.

Having raised over £2,500 in sponsorship and gift aid donations, the money will go to the Anthony Nolan, the stem cell donation charity.

Jane Sadowski, manager of The New Deanery, who inspired staff to take up Anthony Nolan’s ‘Zero to Hero’ challenge, said: “I can’t begin to tell you how humbled I feel for the achievements made by our staff for an organisation who do so much good.

“The team have once again surpassed themselves. Because of them, many people will be given a fighting chance against cancer.”

Teams from both homes, which are part of Sonnet Care Homes, wanted to show their support for their colleague Jane after she was diagnosed with blood cancer towards the end of last year.

Activities manager Jo Whitehouse discovered Anthony Nolan’s Zero to Hero challenge and received interest from every department including housekeepers, carers, nurses and kitchen staff.

Jo said: “Some people were understandably nervous about reaching their 30-mile targets, but team spirit took over and everyone gave it their all.

“We were also joined by two family members, our local vicar, Father Rod Reid from St Mary’s Church, our finance director Jo Moore and our CEO Julia Clinton.”

Jo created a JustGiving page with a £1,000 goal which was passed within the first two weeks of the challenge with sponsors ranging from friends and family to care home residents and their relatives.

The amount raised will be enough to add 63 potential new donors to the stem cell register through the Anthony Nolan charity.

Jane said: "Thank you seems feeble. My gratitude knows no bounds but my pride in this exceptional team reaches new heights.

"God bless you all who give me the strength to fight on when I thought nothing could inspire me to do so."

Donations can be made to Sonnet Care Homes’ Zero to Hero challenge on their JustGiving page.

Get all the latest news, updates, things to do and more from Braintree's dedicated InYourArea feed.