A MEMBER of Melksham’s Shine Friendship Café has raised nearly £1,300 for Comic Relief.
Allanah Wilton, who regularly attends the café for adults with learning difficulties at Queensway Chapel Family Centre, walked 10,000 steps a day from 1st March through to Red Nose Day on 18th March.
She also hosted a raffle and tabletop sale at the Shine Friendship Café on Red Nose Day itself, bringing her fundraising total to £1,290.
“All of us at Shine friendship Café are so proud of her efforts,” said Carolyn Fernandes de Abreu, who runs the café.
Allanah completed her walking challenge with a toy pigeon called ‘Nimby’, which represents a pigeon that she feeds and looks after in her garden daily.
“Allanah has Autism and uses the comfort of pigeons as a coping mechanism to deal with her anxiety,” explains Allanah’s mum, Ali. “If she is in a situation that unsettles her, she looks around for pigeons and they calm her. So, it was her idea to walk with Nimby and raise money to help people that needed help.”
There is still time to support Allanah and donate to Comic Relief – visit her JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/andrew-wilton
The Shine Friendship Café is held every Friday, 10am to 12pm, at Queensway Chapel Family Centre.
For adults with learning difficulties, it provides a space to meet up with friends and make new ones. And for support workers it provides them with a rare opportunity to catch up with their peers, share experiences and debrief.
For more information visit the Shine Friendship Café Facebook page, which is updated weekly: www.facebook.com/ Shine-Friendship-Cafe-100782255551564
Picture: Allanah Wilton completed her walking challenge with her toy pigeon called ‘Nimby’, who represents a pigeon that she feeds and looks after in her garden.
