A PAIR of Coventry friends have exceeded all expectations by raising over £10,000 for their respective charities.
Sophie McEvoy, 26, and Jade Troth, 25, both entered the nation’s iconic London Marathon earlier this year by securing a charity place – meaning they had to raise a minimum of £2,500 each.
The pair met eachother whilst working together at the weekends when aged just 16.
Now, a decade later, Sophie and Jade are ready to tackle one of their biggest challenges.
Over 170 people turned out to a special charity ball which showcased the talents of a local comedian, band and DJ – and Sophie revealed that she plans to run a bigger event next year.
The fundraiser added: “Myself and Jade have always been great friends – after finishing school Jade worked abroad for a couple of years whilst I went travelling, though we still kept in touch with eachother.
“The ball went really well and we’re hoping to run a similar event next year, though we’ll be planning to make it even bigger and looking to attract some businesses to get involved as sponsors.”
Asides from Sophie and Jade’s heroic fundraising efforts, they have also committed to hours of training and completed the Birmingham half marathon in October.
Sophie will be raising money for the Starlight Children’s Foundation – who help grant wishes to poorly children – her money specifically will fund a child’s wish to visit Disneyland, Florida.
Jade meanwhile is contributing to the Anthony Nolan charity who save the lives of people living with blood cancer.
Sophie said: “They’re both worthwhile charities and the support that we have received has been so rewarding.
“We’ve been doing plenty of training, I’m sure that when the marathon takes place in April both myself and Jade will reap the rewards of our hard work when crossing the line.”
Alex Abbott, fundraising officer at Starlight Children’s Foundation, said: “It’s incredible that Sophie and Jade have raised such an amazing amount for Starlight.
“The money raised will help us grant wishes-of-a-lifetime to our very poorly children and provide fun and entertainment for children in hospitals and hospices throughout the UK.”
