Bell joined Zephy (four) and Orla (three) on Rush Common yesterday afternoon as part of their ongoing fundraising efforts for Down’s South London.
The two children, who live in Streatham, are part of a team of fifteen children with Down’s Syndrome across South London. Together, they’re hoping to raise up to £35,000 for the charity by walking 300 miles: crawling, walking, running, scooting, cycling and swimming, to cover the equivalent distance from Land’s End to Peckham in South London, where their therapy is based.
Down’s South London offer a unique package of early intervention speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and sensory therapy, delivered by a team of highly skilled therapists with specialist knowledge of how young children with Down’s Syndrome develop.
The children have already raised over £26,000 as part of their efforts. The charity has seen a £50,000 shortfall this year due to the impact of the pandemic, with fundraising activities curtailed and donations falling.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Labour Member of Parliament for Streatham, said:
“I’m blown away by the fantastic fundraising efforts of Orla, Zephy, and all fifteen children on the Down’s South London team.
So many charities have seen their income slashed by the pandemic, fighting on to provide their vital services as usual.
These children have already managed to raise a staggering amount of money for the charity they love at an incredibly challenging time.
I’m with them every step of the way and encourage everyone to get behind their campaign.”
ENDS
Notes:
- Down’s South London fundraiser, https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage
- ‘Determined youngsters with Down’s Syndrome take up 300 mile challenge to fundraise for their own therapy’, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1srVuYjaoPehXVLJ9odi1adnCjxrBH8bv3odsruRcxzA/edit (campaign press release)
- Photos attached. Captions for the first image from left to right: Mariam (Orla’s mum), Bell, Suzanne (Bell’s Office), Orla, Zephy, Sarah (Zephy’s mum)
For further information about this press release, please contact Ollie Collard at oliver.collard@parliament.uk.