[T]his May a local family will be joined by thousands of fundraisers showering themselves in a rainbow of powdered paint and foam during a local hospice’s Colour Run.
On Sunday 13 May Clare Grierson, 33, Tasha Bezuszko and Misha Bezuszko, both 24, will join fellow fundraisers at Carlisle Racecourse for Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, Cumbria’s Children’s Hospice’s annual Colour Run. This year’s event will be special for Clare, Tasha and Misha as they take part in memory of their Nanna, Hilda Johnston.
Clare, from Carlisle, explained, “When you are told that someone you love is terminally ill your world crumbles around you. How will you manage without them? How you will you support them in their hour of need? So many questions we just couldn’t answer as a family.
“Our Nanna had fought cancer once before but this time she couldn’t find the strength in her to beat it and we lost her on 1st May 2017 surrounded by her family at Eden Valley Hospice. The months, weeks and days leading to that heart-breaking day Nanna was taken under the hospice’s wing. The care the hospice not only showed to us, but more importantly to her, will never leave us.
“We will be forever grateful to every member of staff that took some role in caring for and keeping Nanna’s spirits up when she was at her worst. We spent a lot of time at the hospice and every minute we were there with Nanna she was in a warm, safe, friendly and caring environment. Eden Valley Hospice was a safe haven when we need them and to find out that they operated by fundraising was a big surprise to us. This is why myself and my cousins, Tasha and Misha, want to raise as much funding as we possibly can for the hospice. We understand that every little helps.”
Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw’s Colour Run is the perfect event for all the family as it is not about setting the fastest time, it is about having fun. Whether you run, walk, dance or conga around two laps of Carlisle Racecourse, you can help the hospice make a difference in the local community.
During the event fundraisers will be transformed from a blank canvas in a white t-shirt into a rainbow of colour as they pass through the powder paint and foam stations, where fundraisers will be showered in a rainbow of colour.
Clare continued, “I wanted to take part in last year’s Colour Run but couldn’t as I was on crutches. My cousin Tasha took part on behalf of the family and we were there supporting here. This year, now I’m back on my feet, we want to take part as a family in memory of our Nanna one year after her passing, and to raise as much as we possibly can for the service the hospice provides 365 days a year.
“We know personally what the hospice does and we want to give something back with our fundraising.
“The atmosphere at the run last year was electric. Everyone supporting each other, giving each other moral support. We think about Nanna every day, but on May 13th we know that she will be looking down on us with a smile on her face, saying come on girls, you got this!”
More than 1,300 people took part in the 2017 event raising almost £60,000 to help the care, support and activities provided at Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw. Since launching in 2015 the three previous Carlisle Colour Run events have raised an incredible £190,948.
The money raised by Clare and all the Colour Run fundraisers will help the local charity to provide the highest standards of care, support and activities to local adults and children with life limiting illnesses. If you would like to sponsor Clare, Tasha and Misha as they take part in the Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw Colour Run please visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/inmemorofnana
Registration for the Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw Colour Run at Carlisle Racecourse is now open. Prices are £20 Adults (16+), £10 Children (5 to 15) FREE Under 5s, £45 Family (two adults and two children) and £60 group (four adults). Entry to the event includes a white t-shirt and a pair of funky sunglasses.
To sign up today please visit www.edenvalleyhospice.org or www.jigsawhospice.org or call the Fundraising Team on 01228 817613.
