Girls’ holiday sponsored swim raises £4,500 for charity

THREE young friends took on a sponsored swim challenge whilst on holiday in memory of Dan Looker, two of the girls’ father, who died suddenly of sepsis last May.  

During the summer holidays, Elisha-Kate, a year 8 pupil at Melksham Oak, visited Spain for a holiday with her grandparents and her friends from Liverpool, Sophie and Lauren, whose father had died due to sepsis. 

Whilst on holiday, the girls came up with the idea of raising money for the UK Sepsis Trust in his name. They were staying at the Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort which has 19 sets of swimming pools and their challenge was to swim all 19 in one day. They started a Justgiving page just a week before the big day which would take place on the anniversary of Sophie and Lauren’s parents’ wedding anniversary – 17th August.

They spent the week making t-shirts for themselves, friends and family, posters and even an advertising placards for the support car. There was also a text number to donate. Through a facebook campaign they pushed for more sponsorship for their event. 

Their swim started at 11am and finished at 2pm and they achieved a swim and walking distance of over three and a half miles. The girls said that the support from other holidaymakers at the Hacienda resort was amazing, with many people on their sunbeds adding funds to their buckets. Even the security guard from the resort supported them by joining them for the entirety of their challenge. 

Elisha-Kate said the girls wanted to not only raise money for the cause, but also raise  awareness of the early signs of sepsis. They were supported by  Sophie and Lauren’s mother, Nicola, who said that other families shouldn’t have to go through what her family had experienced.

The total so far raised  by the girls is over £4,500. 

To donate visit their JustGiving page at https://www .justgiving.com/fundraising /19in1fordb.