Woman from Hyde raises over £800 for local children's hospice

Sharon Potts, from Hyde, has raised over £800 for Francis House Children’s Hospice, through a charity walk she did in mid July.

The 54 year old wanted to do the walk in honour of her nephew Thomas, who passed away at the age of 7 at Francis House. Thomas was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer on Christmas day, and the hospice in Manchester took very good care of him across his last few months. Sharon said, “Francis House is an amazing place, not only for the children but for the whole family to spend precious time with loved ones.

“Thomas passed away 25 years ago and still to this day we visit Francis House as a family once a year to celebrate memory day for all the children who have sadly passed, it is a place I hold very close to my heart and they really don’t get enough recognition.”

Sharon came up with the idea herself, which was to walk all the way from her house in Hyde, to Towyn in North Wales. She estimated the walk would take her around four days, but she managed to complete the 75 mile walk in just over 48 hours.

Sharon said, “It was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and raising money for an amazing cause made me want to do it even more.”

When asked about what the toughest part about the walk was, Sharon said, “The walking itself was hard but it was very lonely as well, I think that was the toughest aspect”.

Sharon set off on her walk armed with only a small bag of snacks, and a two-man tent, which she slept in for two nights, on a field, “The sleeping was tough, I only got about 2 hours sleep on the first night”, she noted.

When Sharon was asked if the place she walked to had any significance, she said, “Not really, it’s just the place where my daughter’s caravan is, so I thought at least I can have a sleep there when I’ve finished the walk!”

Sammy Pearson, the mother of Thomas, who passed away at Francis House says she is immensely proud of Sharon, “I’m so proud of her, she’s my super trooper from Hyde, Tom would be so proud of what she’s done too”.

The money was raised through donations given to Sharon in person, as well as a gofundme page. This page is still currently taking donations, if you would like to donate, please click the link below:

Embed not found