North-east woman aiming to raise £42,000 for Abbie's Sparkle with mammoth fundraising challenge
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A NORTH-EAST woman is set to take on a mammoth fundraising challenge to raise £42,000 for charity.
Lauren Donald, from Udny Green, is aiming to attend 21 different events to raise funds for Abbie Sparkle's Foundation, to mark what would have been Elgin girl Abbie Main's 21st birthday.
Abbie sadly died aged 15 on Christmas Day in 2017 after living with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, for more than four years.
Mum-of-two Lauren is a trustee at Abbie's Sparkle and has decided to go above and beyond to mark Abbie's 21st.
She said: "I'm certainly no athlete and I'm not used to doing these events.
"I did the Banksy Beast, helping raise £7500 for Abbie's Sparkle, and was buzzing afterwards so that's what gave me the motivation for the madness of 21 events.
"Go big or go home is my theory so I'm aiming to raise £21,000 per challenge year – so the aim is to raise £42,000 across the 21 months."
Lauren has got four sponsors for the event, each giving her £2500, either in cash or vouchers. These are Cairnrowan Custom Homes, Norframe, Eliis Brigham Mountain Sports and Fencing Solutions Tarves
So far, with one challenge of the 21 completed, £1000 has been raised from donations.
The first event, which took place on March 6, was the Scottish Winter Swimming Championships at Tayside Marina.
Lauren was joined by three pals as she swam 50 metres in the freezing cold water wearing a tutu.
"Four of us took part, it was like a relay," she said. "We all did 50 metres, which isn't a massive amount, but we did it in fancy dress and the water was five degrees and we had swim suits and tutus which kept falling down.
"It wasn't easy, but that's the first event down. The second is the Glasgow Kiltwalk in April. The most physically challenging event will see us walk 75 kilometres over two days at Loch Awe."
Among the 21 challenges are the Etape Cycle, the Burghead Boxing Day Swim and the Aviemore Triathlon.
Preparing for these events will be a challenge in itself, especially with young Kaedee (7) and Caleb (9) to look after.
Especially as Kaedee has proven to be mum Lauren's harshest little critic.
"Kaedee is like my coach," she said. "She's brutal. She blamed me for nothing winning the swimming event at Tayside Marina!"
Support has been forthcoming, though, from Abbie's parents, Tammy and Russell.
Lauren added: "They have been amazing with me. They think I'm mental taking this on.
"Tammy said it doesn't matter what is raised, that there's no pressure and they're delighted I'm doing anything.
To keep up with the challenge, follow 21sparklechallenge on Facebook and Instagram.
To donate to Abbie Sparkle's Challenge, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/21sparklechallenge.
