Great Lengths Smash their January Challenge and Fundraising Goal
While many of us spent January hunkered down on the sofa, the Great Lengths team got the year off to a much more active start by running in the rain, wind, snow, sleet – and the odd bit of sunshine – to clock up 500 miles and raise more than £1,000 for The Little Princess Trust.
The team participated in the Great Run challenge, working together to run, jog and walk a cumulative distance of 500 miles over 31 days. Working collectively enabled the team to rack up the miles both safely and independently, which meant that everyone could work at their own pace to contribute to the final milestone.
Great Lengths UK & Ireland have supported The Little Princess Trust charity for five years with hair donations. The charity provides free, real hair wigs to children living with medical hair loss, to help restore their confidence and identity.
It costs The Little Princess Trust from £550 to provide one real-hair wig, free of charge, to their recipients. They currently supply more than 100 wigs every month and rely on financial donations, as well as hair donations, to fund the manufacturing of wigs and provide a wig-fitting service.
In addition to wig provision, The Little Princess Trust also funds research into finding better treatments for childhood cancers. Since 2016, they have funded research projects into many types of cancer (including neuroblastoma, leukaemia, teenage and young adult brain tumours, Wilms', and rhabdomyosarcoma) and a variety of less toxic treatments (including Immunotherapy, Proton Beam Therapy and Drug Repurposing).
With their final total of £1,032 (to date), Great Lengths will be able to cover the cost of two real hair wigs for children and to further support this much-needed research to end childhood cancers forever. Joscelin McCourt, CEO of Great Lengths UK and Ireland, says:
We have long been proud supporters of The Little Princess Trust but decided that in 2021 we wanted to do even more to help. Doing a cumulative run was a great team-building exercise – even if we were not actually running together – and gave us all a boost. It felt great to start the year on a high after a challenging twelve months for everyone and gave us all a great excuse to get out and exercise during lockdown. The charity does such important work, and we will proudly continue to raise funds and awareness over the coming months and years.
If you have been inspired to fundraise for The Little Princess Trust, there are plenty of resources online to help. The charity has fundraising packs, sponsorship forms, ideas for both corporate and individuals and plenty of inspiration from past fundraising initiatives. You can also donate hair – although the charity is encouraging supporters to join the #LetItGrow campaign and hold off cutting their hair for the moment. Alternatively, if you want to learn more about working directly with the charity, you can apply to join The Little Princess Trust Salon Network to be considered as a recognised salon for wig fitting.
You can donate to the Great Lengths Team via their JustGiving page.