03 Jan Body Move Fitness raise £535 for Colchester General Hospital
A total of £535 raised by a team of eight fun runners from a Harwich fitness studio will on Friday (6th) be presented to a specialist midwife.
Two members of the team will hand over a giant cheque to bereavement midwife Sue Armstrong when she visits Body Move Fitness in Waddeson Road, Dovercourt.
Ms Armstrong is responsible for supporting the staff and co-ordinating the work undertaken in the Rosemary Suite at Colchester General Hospital, a purpose-built bereavement suite for mothers and their families who have experienced the loss of a baby.
The £535 will be donated to the Rosemary Suite fund of Colchester Hospitals Charity (CoHoC).
The idea to support the facility came from one of the eight runners, Sam Copping, who lives in Dovercourt and works as a midwife on the midwife-led unit (Juno Suite) at Colchester General Hospital.
Mrs Copping, a member of Body Move Fitness since September, said: “When the owner Matt Rozier said he wanted to get a team up for a 5k Santa run in Ipswich, I suggested we use the opportunity to raise money for the Rosemary Suite.
“What gave me the idea was that I helped a friend of mine to deliver a stillborn daughter there 28 weeks into her pregnancy back in August.”
Mrs Copping, 32, and Mr Rozier will present the money to Ms Armstrong on Friday, which has exceeded their target of £500.
The team of eight, who wore full Santa kit, were among almost 3,000 runners who took in what is believed to be on the only “inflatable Santa run” – an event in Trinity Park, Ipswich, on 3 December that included 10 giant inflatable obstacles.
Mr Rozier said: “Christmas is a time for giving and I always like to respond to members’ requests.
“The Rosemary Suite is a great cause and we’re extremely pleased to have raised a fantastic £535 for the brilliant team at the hospital.”
The Rosemary Suite, which opened in 2004, takes its name from the herb which has a strong association with remembrance.
It was visited by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in April 2015 in the run-up to the general election the following month with Will Quince, who became Colchester’s MP.
Mr Quince’s son, Robert James Quince, who had Edward’s syndrome, a very rare chromosomal disorder that is incompatible with life, died in the Rosemary Suite in October 2014.
* It is still possible to support the team from Body Move Fitness by making a donation to the Rosemary Suite via www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bodymovefitness
