LOCAL FRIENDS PUT THE FUN IN FUNDRAISING
It is said that not all heroes wear capes but in some instances they certainly do! The “Comical Crusaders” are a fun group of ladies who after suffering the sad loss of a friend, decided to step up and make a real difference to those in need, while putting a smile on the faces of all those who see them.
Jackie Sleigh, Penny Davey, Sue Roff and Vikki Ewing will be putting on their capes and cycling Hadrian’s Wall in May to raise money for the local charity Sasha’s Project, a local mental health crisis centre set up by Angela and Steve Forster after the tragic loss of their daughter Sasha.
Below: (L-R) Jackie Sleigh, Vikki Ewing, Penny Davey, Sue Roff.
Jackie, a local school teacher, explains a bit about the madcap fundraisers and just why they decided to take on such a huge challenge:
The Comical Crusaders consist of a group of local middle age mums who have known each other from work and some of us since school days. There are a few of us, but for this, our first fundraiser. You won’t be able to miss us as we will be riding in green; green capes, leg warmers and tutus – not just to represent Mental health awareness but also to put a smile on faces as we pootle past.
After the tragic death of a good friend and the hard times of the pandemic, we wanted to do something worthwhile. Make a difference. Challenge ourselves. We decided to form the Comical Crusaders with the aim to do a charity fundraising event each year. Our motto is “to bring a smile to good causes”.
From May 20th we will be cycling coast to coast from Bowness on Solway to Teignmouth following Hadrians Wall. We aren’t cyclists! We literally had to dust our bikes off from the sheds. Who knew about the wonderful world of padded shorts, padded gloves and even pants! It’s been an eye opener.
Over the last few months we have been training whenever we can. At present we are cycling approximately 30-40 miles a week, squeezing the rides in after work. Sadly, our bottoms still haven’t gotten use to it!
So what was it that made them choose to support Sasha’s Project?
Mental health awareness is close to all of our hearts. Some of us from personal experience, or through work. All of us have children who are now young adults so we were all aware of the struggles in todays society. We wanted to raise money for a smaller, local charity who helped our local community.
Sasha’s Project is amazing. It runs a drop in crisis centre at The Point Youth Centre at the back of Fleet Library and is open 10pm-6am every Friday & Saturday night. It is a safe haven for young people aged 16-25 years who are experiencing a mental health crisis or have suicidal thoughts. It offers a caring, non-clinical environment and complete confidentiality.
With Sasha’s Project just having celebrated its first year, the fundraising friends are aiming to raise enough to help train more volunteers for the centre, as well as helping to fund the high cost of rent. If you’d like to contribute and sponsor the ladies, click below!
With such a fantastically upbeat take on fundraising, the fun loving friends are certainly putting a smile on people’s faces. We wish them the best of luck on their cycling adventures and hope they raise as much as possible for what is a truly great local charity. Once again – you can donate here!
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