Walking the walk off her own back

Ellie Weeks, 12, organised a sponsored walk, from Littlehampton to Lancing, in memory of her grandmother, to raise money for Cancer Research, and now wants to do more and more for the charity.

Dad Tim said the first he and wife Suze knew about the walk, which she did last week, was when an envelope from the charity dropped on their doormat.

“We asked her what it was, and she just skipped off, saying she had organised a sponsored walk. She had been on the internet and decided to do it in memory of her nan, my mum, who passed away a few years ago from cancer.

“She had just gone ahead, got the sponsor form, and all the stuff she needed, from the charity, all by herself.”

He added that he and Suze, and brother Jimmi, nine, were all very impressed with Ellie.

“We felt very proud of her – we were proud of her that she had even thought about doing the walk, even more that she actually finished it,” he said.

“She organised it, got all the sponsors, all by herself. It’s great that she wants to remember her nan like that.”

He added that the Littlehampton Academy student had set herself the target of £100, but had managed to collect more than £140 in sponsorship.

“She enjoyed it so much, that she has signed up for the Worthing Race For Life, in July,” said Tim, “and has even decided that she will do a sky dive, for Cancer Research, when she’s 16.

Ellie’s grandmother, Kathy, died from the disease about three years ago.

“She kept asking me about cancer, what it was and why her Nanny Weeks passed away, but I had not really put it all together, until we saw the envelope.”