TWO sisters from Frome have taken part in fundraisers on opposite sides of the world to raise money for charity in memory of their mother.
Organised by Beth Llewellyn, with support from her sister Alex Bleakley in Australia, the ‘Pedal4Pam’ fundraiser has raised over £8,000 for Dorothy House, who supported their mother, Pam Webber, when she was diagnosed with lung cancer.
“I lost my mum, Pam Webber, to lung cancer when she was 53 years old, just under 2 years ago when I was 24,” said Beth.
“She was treated in Dorothy House for the last 10 days of her life. Since then I have always wanted to show my appreciation to them and raise a little bit of money to know that it will help others through what my mum, my sister and myself went through.”
Originally, the ‘Pedal4 Pam’ fundraiser was planned to be a 98-mile bike ride from Ilfracombe to Plymouth over two days in May this year, but due to lockdown it was postponed to the last weekend in September.
But when the government introduced its “rule of six” last month, Beth and her team of 34 riders had to rethink their plans again!
“Instead, a lot of us decided that we still wanted to ride for my mum, Pam, and show our supporters that Covid wouldn’t stop us,” said Beth. “We wanted to continue to raise as much money as we could for the amazing Dorothy House!
“We all split into smaller groups of six or less and decided we would completed a personal challenge for ourselves in memory of my beautiful mum – whether that be a 40-mile ride or a 100-mile ride (we had many different levels of fitness, so anything we did was a challenge). We even had one of my best friends, Fleur, and her partner Joel, climb Snowdon in Wales. And then Joel went and climbed Scafell Pike in the Lake District with three of his friends, Jack, Andy and Brad.
“We also had so many of us still pedalling for Pam. I rode to Bath and back with my loved ones and we had riders riding to Bristol and back, Okehampton over Dartmoor. We even had my sister Amy, who lives in Australia, completing 61 miles over the weekend by doing an obstacle course and a ride on a stationary bike with her best friend Sammy.
“It was such an overwhelming weekend for myself knowing that so many of the 34 riders were joining me, even from Australia, and that we all continued to do something despite the Covid circumstances.
“I cannot thank every single one of those 34 riders enough – most are family and friends – for the commitment they showed and the help and support they have given me to raise such a massive amount for Dorothy House. Also thank you to one of my clients, Becky Bird, for her guidance organising the event. We all as a team have raised so much and it’s one to remember. Go TeamPam!”
To support Beth and donate, visit the website: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/pedal4pam
