Mother and son duo ‘mindblown’ to have already raised hundreds ahead of charity abseil
A mother and son duo are “mindblown” to have already raised hundreds of pounds ahead of their abseil of the National Lift Tower in aid of a vital charity.
Emily Griffiths and her 12-year-old son Jacob are taking on the challenge for The Lewis Foundation, which was founded by Lorraine and Lee Lewis back in April 2016.
This year the charity celebrated nine years of providing free gift packs and support to adults going through cancer treatment in hospitals across the Midlands.
The need for the charity emerged when Lee’s mother was diagnosed with the cruel disease, and it opened the pair’s eyes to what people went through during treatment. The main aim was to ensure patients do not feel alone.
The Lewis Foundation has continued to expand – with a coffee shop at The Elgar Centre in Upton and two stores, including one at the heart of the town in the Grosvenor Centre.
The latest addition is the takeover of The Link Cafe at the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery in Guildhall Road since November last year, immersing them further into the community than ever before.
Emily has worked for The Lewis Foundation since October last year ahead of the opening of The Link Cafe. As a trained barista, she loves her job and working in a role that gives back to the community.
She also works as the community support and engagement coordinator, speaking to everyone who hosts events and fundraisers for the charity and showing their thanks for the support.
The mother and son duo will complete the abseil in September, and it was Emily who signed up first as a result of seeing how vital funds benefit the community on a daily basis.
She came home that day to tell Jacob as she was equally excited and nervous, and Jacob decided to join her on the challenge as he felt passionately about helping people with cancer.
The pair are nervous for what is to come and recently went to stand at the bottom of the Lift Tower to see what they were up against. Emily and Jacob will abseil down at the same time.
The mother and son hoped to raise £500 between the two of them and they have already exceeded that goal, with Emily having raised £250 and Jacob £296.
With constant ongoing fundraising, as well as promises from Jacob’s school that they will show their support upon his return in September, they are both optimistic about the final total.
When asked how it feels that people have already shown generosity by donating, Emily told the Chronicle & Echo: “It’s absolutely mindblowing and so heartwarming that so many people want to help.
“There’s not enough people who know about The Lewis Foundation and awareness is as important as the money. Cancer affects everybody.”
Jacob says he is “really happy” at the support he has been shown and shed a few tears at the most generous donations. As the gift packs cost £3.60 each, Emily and Jacob have already raised enough to cover 150 – and that will only increase from here.