A mother from Nottinghamshire has raised over an incredible £50,000 in the name of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
Lorraine Barnes, from Bothamsall, set herself the challenge of raising £50,000 through fifty separate fundraisers in the 18 months leading up to her 50th birthday, which she has said she will not be marking until her sons Daniel and Joseph, who suffer from cystic fibrosis, can do the same.
She didn’t ask any of her family and friends for presents to mark her milestone celebration, instead asking them to make a donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
“There is nothing in my life that I need or want more than for my two sons to have a secure future”, she told the Nottingham Post.
The donations raised will be used to invest in cutting-edge research to help develop treatments and therapies to help those born with cystic fibrosis.
Along with the charity ball she hosted on her birthday this year, Lorraine also took part in shaving her hair off, a 114-metre abseil from the Olympic Park’s ArcelorMittal Orbit in London, and the most terrifying challenge of them all, a wing-walk where she was strapped to the top of a biplane which then flew and performed aerobatic stunts.
“I’m no daredevil – I am deliberately taking myself out of my comfort zone so the challenges have an edge”, Lorraine told the Retford Times in January 2015.
The fiftieth fundraiser was a charity ball, held to raise even more funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, and Insurancewith sponsored a table for cystic fibrosis parents, to allow them a break from the reality of cystic fibrosis when they possibly could not have otherwise attended.
We’re delighted to announce that the ball was a huge success, with Lorraine hitting her target of £50,000 on the night, with over £6,000 raised on the night thanks to the help of a charity auction and the attendance of Tristan Gemmill, who is currently starring on Coronation Street.
Speaking about the reaching her fundraising target on her blog, Lorraine said: “Life is too short to regret doing something you wish you’d done given the chance, so I took a chance. Nothing I do is ever going to stop me living a life – I have lungs which work, I can breathe in and out without coughing, my chest doesn’t hurt when I cough, I can eat without taking tablets, I don’t need plugging in to an overnight feed, I don’t have umpteen hospital appointments to attend. I’m alive and able to take part in challenges. I’ve lost countless numbers of friends to Cystic Fibrosis over the years – I’ve seen unbelievable heartache through friends who have lost children to Cystic Fibrosis – it is an evil, unrelenting condition – and while I can still breathe I’ll continue to fundraise and raise awareness of Cystic Fibrosis because my fear is that one day, I will lose one, or both of my sons to Cystic Fibrosis, and that is something I can’t bear to think about – my energies are ploughed in to fundraising because that’s what keeps me focused – keeps me busy and stops me thinking about the “what if’s”. I consider it my job – a job I enjoy – I enjoy bringing people together – I enjoy the support – the community spirit and the results all these bring to achieving goals. Never ever underestimate the power of a community pulling together to help each other – a community with the same aim – to see an end to Cystic Fibrosis…. one day we will.”
Insurancewith are so proud to have been able to help parents of other cystic fibrosis patients attend the ball and have a great evening, and also to have contributed towards helping Lorraine reach her target.
Well done to all involved!
You can support Lorraine in her fundraising efforts here
