WHEN local Crossfit gym owners, Katharine and Paul Roffey of Affinity Wellbeing Crossfit UVA, learned that one of their members had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, they rallied their gym community to help fundraise for her.
Lisa Wells was diagnosed with cancer shortly after giving birth to her second child, aged just 31, and decided to create a legacy for her daughters by mounting a fundraising campaign, which Affinity Wellbeing members were keen to support.
The first fundraising event was a ‘Lock In Special’, where gym members came together with friends of Lisa’s to take part in a series of Crossfit-style workouts, designed so that everyone could enjoy them. The event was attended by over 70 people and culminated in a very tense game of prize bingo. Lisa attended the evening and was given her very own award to commemorate the event.
An Affinity Wellbeing auction also took place to help with the fundraising efforts. Organised by Sarah Fraser, Paul and Katharine, the auction attracted over 120 donations from businesses and individuals from across Frome and beyond. Bidding on the auction lots took place over the course of several days and attracted a great deal of attention and brought out the competitive nature in many of those taking part.
Together, the events raised the tremendous total of £9021.32. Katharine and Paul said, “We were all devastated to hear the news about Lisa and wanted to do what we could to support her and her family. It’s been fantastic to turn something negative into a positive. The amount raised was way beyond our expectations, but we know our members are always up for supporting each other in whatever challenges we face and they’ve really done us, and Lisa, proud! We’re enormously grateful to everyone who donated prizes, auction lots and who helped to make these events happen, as well as to everyone who took part.”
