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It was an emotional and lovely moment when QRC Chairman, Rob was able to reveal to Dan and Kylie the results of ‘Operation Blanket’, meaning Darlington Memorial Hospital will shortly have their own cuddle blanket in memory of their daughter Olivia.
After completing voluntary work with 4Louis, Rob had the idea of getting the cuddle blanket and unbeknown to Dan and Kylie tasked members to see if it was possible. He knew it was a big ask but knew how amazing Quakers are, proving that anything is possible.
Rob was delighted to announce that QRC members had raised the amazing sum of £4165.26 over the past 12 months, with almost half of that coming in the last couple of months.
Many thanks were in order including every Quaker that donated any sum of money, those that donated raffle prizes or baked/sold cakes at stalls at Darlington South Park parkrun takeover event and the Cross Country Relays, Ruth Middleton (and Rob Gillham) for their donations in relation to the questionnaire responses, Phil Thornberry for running London Marathon and also a donation from his employer Northumbrian Water, Sarah Burrows for running Leeds Marathon, Diane Vaughan for her retrospective sponsorship for Tokyo Marathon and for baking and selling her lovely bread and to Richard Hughes’ company SABIC for their very generous donation of £500, the first time they have donated to a charity outside of the Teesside area.
Rob said how proud he was of our amazing club, and thanked members once again for making this a reality.
Afterwards, Kylie said that having a cuddle cot/blanket in a hospital in Olivia’s memory had been a dream for her and Dan – to help other bereaved parents. They were shocked and surprised in a lovely way and there were happy tears as they thanked members for everything they had done which would keep Olivia’s memory alive and to create this legacy for her.
Kylie said that “their beautiful Olivia will be watching over everyone in the club and she would be so proud of everything you have all achieved. This is something that we as a family will never forget, you guys are truly wonderful friends to us and we will be forever grateful”.
Northern Echo article: Quakers Running Club raises £4k for child loss charity | The Northern Echo
This year’s QRC chosen charity will be The Great North Air Ambulance.