Global Knowledge run for Evie
Family friend inspires company to raise money for two year old's life-changing surgery ~ Company pledges to match the total raised in Wokingham half marathon run.
A team from IT training organisation, Global Knowledge, have run the Wokingham half marathon to raise money for a two year old little girl suffering from quadriplegia cerebral palsy. The team ran after family friend, Glyn Roberts, UK operations director at Global Knowledge highlighted the need to help raise £50,000 towards allowing Evie Herbert to travel to America for surgery which will vastly improve her quality of life. In a bid to meet the target and fund Evie's treatment, Global Knowledge has promised to match whatever the team raises.
Evie's condition is such that she has very limited movement and struggles to walk. The surgery she needs - Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) - is only available at the St Louis Hospital inMissouri and involves severing some of the sensory nerve fibres that come from the muscles and enter the spinal cord. "The operation is most effective when the child is two or four years old," explained Glyn. "Evie turns three this month and with £15,000 still to find, it's a rush against time so we were really grateful when Global Knowledge pledged to match the total"
The 9 man team at Global Knowledge, none of whom have run a half-marathon before, took up the challenge after hearing of Evie's plight through Glyn. "It was very much a collective decision to run the marathon and do it for Evie" he explained, "I've known Evie since she was born but since working at Global Knowledge, the company has become very involved with her journey. Despite all our varying degrees of fitness they didn't take much persuading to take part. So far we've raised around £3000 from the run which gets us closer to our total. We're so glad we did it and really encourage people to keep donating."
"Evie's story immediately grabs anyone who hears it. Matching the amount was a very easy decision to make and a great way for us to show our support for the team" explained Richard Pryor-Jones, EMEA President of Global Knowledge. "We're encouraging everyone to do the same so we've had buckets in all our training centres for people to donate - every penny can make the difference."
"We are so grateful for everything Global Knowledge and the team have done. We are overwhelmed by the level of support we have received and so much closer to achieving Evie's goal... thank you so much" said Stephanie Herbert, Evie's mum.
To donate to Evie, please follow the link below. http://www.runningforevie.co.uk/run/Welcome.html
-ends-