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Fostering People travel nearly 8,000 miles in memory of our late colleague

The staff, foster parents and children at Fostering People, have travelled just shy of 8,000 miles in memory of one of our colleagues, Helen Armitage.

December 22 2021 - 4 min read

Miles in memory of Helen Armitage

The staff and wider community at Fostering People, a national fostering agency, have travelled just shy of 8,000 miles in memory of one of their colleagues.

Over 400 people took part in the fundraiser for Helen Armitage, who sadly lost her life in May this year after a brave battle with bowel cancer. A staggering 155 of those were children who have been supported by Fostering People.

Throughout October, staff and foster families alike committed to covering distances by running, walking, swimming or anything which didn’t require the use of a car to raise money for cancer charity Bowel Cancer UK.

Throughout October, staff and foster families alike committed to covering distances by running, walking, swimming or anything which didn’t require the use of a car to raise money for cancer charity Bowel Cancer UK.

Helen had worked in the Nottingham office of Fostering People as Office Manager for over a decade and was considered a vital and much-admired member of the team.

According to her colleagues, Helen ‘demanded the highest standards in everything she did through her kindness and patience’ and ‘pushed everyone to do their best’.

Cancer Research UK states that bowel cancer causes the third highest number of cancer deaths amongst women in the UK with the total at around 7,600 per year.

Jody Carter who worked with Helen at the Nottingham branch of Fostering People said: “Helen was an absolute perfectionist. She would always go the extra mile and pushed everyone to do the same to ensure they were doing the best for people.

“We wanted to honour her memory in a way fitting to how she lived her own life, so in true Helen style of setting incredibly high standards, we wanted to represent every life lost to bowel cancer with a mile travelled.”

Jody continued: “We wanted to come together as one team from around the country of our foster parents, children, staff and families to cover a whopping total of 7,600 miles.”

The staff from Helen’s office contributed heavily to the 7,600 mile total through methods including a 31-mile ultra-marathon and a walking club tackling over 500 miles on the Isle of Wight.

Registered Manager Oliver Kirkland travelled 147 miles by bicycle. Oliver, who had worked with Helen for several years said: “Helen had a huge impact on everyone she worked with, so not only did we lose a great colleague and office manager, but we also lost a dear friend.”

‘Miles in memory of Helen’ has beaten its original target of 7,600 miles by over one hundred miles. Everyone involved has travelled a combined distance of 7,757 miles.

The fundraiser has so far raised £1,635 for Bowel Cancer UK through its JustGiving page which was set up in memory of Helen. To make a donation or for more information on Helen’s fundraiser you can visit the JustGiving page here: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fosteringpeopleinmemoryofhelen