Two brave teenagers will jump out of a plane in memory of a very special little girl.
Friends Ellis Doak and Harriet Martin, both 17, wanted to do something a little different to raise money in the memory of Emily Sowden, who passed away suddenly last November at the age of 21 months.
The Abbey Gate College pupils were so upset when they heard what had happened to Emily, they decided to do something in her memory, so on April 19, they will do a sky dive for The Emily Ffion Trust, a charity set up by Emily’s parents John and Sara and fellow trustees Nia and Dave Brammer.
Ellis, who has a fear of heights, said: “We wanted to raise as much money as possible and knew we would have to do something drastic, so we decided to do a skydive.
“I’ve told the Skydiving Centre in Whitchurch they are to throw me out if I get cold feet, although Harriet will probably jump first dragging me behind her as she’s an adrenaline junkie!”
Although still in its early stages, the ultimate aim of The Emily Ffion Trust is to provide local support for suddenly bereaved families through the unexpected loss of a child.
John told The Chronicle : “We set up the trust in Emily’s memory and its two main aims are to support a specific field of medical research that we will know more about when we learn what caused Emily to pass away so suddenly, as well as aiming to offer improved access to bereavement support for siblings and families in the Chester area.
“Thanks to some close friends, we were invited by Claire House to spend time in their Butterfly Suite which is where Emily rested until the day of her funeral,” he added.
And Ellis and Harriet aren’t the only ones doing their bit for the charity.
In May, Sara and some friends will take part in the 5km Electric Run in Manchester and others will be running the Chester Half Marathon as well as The Great Manchester Cycle.
And in September, mums from St Oswald’s Primary School, where John and Sara’s five-year-old son Charlie goes to school, are all joining forces to do a Combat Soldier Battle Run.
John will also be running the Virgin Money London Marathon on April 13 for Claire House.
As well as this, a staggering £24,000 has already been raised from a special ball held at Chester Racecourse in February on what would have been Emily’s second birthday.
“We had a lot of incredible prizes donated to us for the auction, which raised in excess of £13,000” said John.
“Once we get some more information, we will be clearer about where some of the money will go to, but in the meantime we would love to raise as much as we can.”
To donate to Ellis and Harriet, visit their justgiving page – www.justgiving.com/ellis-doak – or to find out more and donate to the Electric Run, go to www.justgiving.com/emilyselectricrunteam .
To support John’s marathon mission, visit www.justgiving.com/curlyangel .
