Birthday fundraiser leaves Chris feeling ‘on top of the world’

Taking fundraising to new heights!

Our supporter, Chris, has taken on a ‘tall’ challenge to fundraise for us while celebrating a big birthday. She was joined by a group of relatives and friends as she climbed the roof of the O2 in London on the day of her 80^th birthday.  

Chris was determined to fundraise after our nurses cared for her husband, Len, before he died in 2021. She says:  

“When we were told Len’s pancreatic cancer was incurable I got in touch with Rennie Grove, as it was then, and they said they would come and look after him at home. They were so helpful, just wonderful. Nurses and carers visited us at home and looked after him right to the end. I don’t know how I would have got through it without them.  

“After he died I said to my daughter, Helen, we must raise money to help them. Helen has done all kinds to raise money – like a skydive and a running challenge. I thought ‘I can’t sit here and let other people do it all. I need to do something too’.” 

After thinking about something that would be a real challenge, Chris landed on the idea of climbing the roof of the O2. She set the date – the day of her 80^th birthday – and invited her family to join her. Chris’s daughter Helen and grandson, James, joined the team as well as a group of friends.  

Chris says: 

“I chose this challenge because it was totally outside my comfort zone! I’m terrified of heights but we did it. And it was so exciting! The views were just beautiful. You can see for miles!  

“It poured with rain while we had our safety briefing and got kitted out but remarkably it stopped just moments before our climb! So we climbed up in dry weather. Just as we began our descent, it started to pour with rain again. It rained so hard that my raincoat was wetter on the inside than it was on the outside! But we all just laughed about it and had fun anyway.” 

Chris set out to raise £500 and has so far raised £920 in sponsorship, plus a £10,000 donation from a supporter of one of the other climbers. Chris said:  

“People have been so generous in supporting this challenge. I’m so touched by all the support to help us give something back to Rennie Grove Peace.”