An Eccles mum is aiming to raise £11,000 for charity for the second time, to give back to those who looked after her fiancé.
Sharne Wilkinson first became involved with The Christie Charity due to her fiancé, Nikki Smallwood, being diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma in early 2023.
Throughout his journey to recovery, the organisation stayed by the family’s side.
She said: “They [The Christies] saved Nikki’s life – the [Christies] hospital provided all of his chemo, all of his treatment, all of his physio, everything.
“He had a really rare form of cancer, but they’ve eradicated that from his body, it’s gone completely.
“You become more passionate don’t you, when it affects you and yours.
Sharne raised the staggering amount in just one year for the Manchester-based cancer charity Christies by hosting a wide range of events such as raffles and fun days around her local area.
However, in February she decided to extend her fundraising abilities by re-embarking on the charity’s infamous ‘Christie Challenge’, which involves having to organise six separate events that raise money for the charity in a single year.
This time though, she will be taking the challenge to new heights.
She and her friends and family are planning to host an Easter Fun Day, a Summer Family Event and even a skydive in a bid to smash their previous donation amount.
Sharne said: “The people who are doing it [the skydive] with me have never done it before – I’m looking forward to it, it should be really good!
“Quite a few people that I know have been affected by cancer; [I want to] give back to all of the treatment and support that they provide.
“Seeing first-hand the amount of work that they do and being able to support that feels really good.”
The team rounded off their first ever six-event challenge with a ‘Night of Neon’, a five kilometre colour-filled charity walk around the Salford Quays, on the February 3.
“It was really good fun,” Sharne commented, “it’s crazy, they’re all in brightly coloured hair, they’ve all got tutus, and everything neon!
“It was really good for people to all just come together raising money for a brilliant cause.
“There’s definitely a really great community spirit – a lot of people have either lost family members or have people going through different sorts of treatment with The Christie.”
“It’s nice to be able to give back isn’t it? For everything they’ve done for me and mine.”
Sharne is currently appealing to Salfordian businesses to donate any toys, apparel or gifts for the team to give away as prizes across the plethora of events they have planned for the next few months.
Her next upcoming event will be a Family Fun Day on Good Friday, with all proceeds going towards the charity.
“No contribution is too small,” she said, “even getting behind and just attending the events would be great.”
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