An employee from Covers Timber & Builders Merchants in Chichester has raised £1,307 for St Barnabas House after completing the Brighton Half Marathon. As part of its fund matching scheme, Covers has agreed to donate an additional £1,000 making the total amount £2,307.

Jackie Redman, Sales Office Manager at Covers Chichester, decided to take on the challenging 13-mile course to raise funds for St Barnabas House in Worthing. The hospice is close to Jackie’s heart after taking care of her mother, who sadly passed away from cancer in October 2021.

Despite being a regular runner, Jackie has never completed an event more than 10 miles long. She said:

“This my first half marathon event and, even though it was tough going, I was thrilled to finish in 1 hour and 52 minutes.

 

“My sister and I lost our wonderful mum in October. She had successfully beaten both breast and bladder cancer, but was sadly diagnosed with peritoneal cancer in May 2019. After numerous rounds of chemotherapy and a major operation, she went into remission. However, just six weeks later we were told the cancer was growing again.  She fought to the end and endured horrendous side effects from her treatment. Eventually, after months of trying to beat the cancer, the hospital could no longer offer treatment and mum decided to spend her final days at home.

 

“Without the help of St Barnabas, this wouldn’t have been possible. It is because of them that mum was able to spend the last weeks of her life in the place she loved most surrounded by her beloved cats.”

Henry Green, Managing Director of Covers, added:

“Congratulations to Jackie on her amazing achievement. We are delighted to contribute to her fundraising total with our match funding scheme. The scheme was set up in 2019 to support our staff with their charity endeavours and matches their final fundraising amount up to £1,000. We hope that our contribution helps to make a difference to the people and families St Barnabas House cares for.”