Many have stories of epic proportions that show the heart and generosity of Team Bertie and make working for Leukaemia CARE. Here is one story sent in by Daniella di Padova.
I spoke to a nice lady from your office last Friday 27 Feb 2009, who called to ask how I am getting on with my training...
I am very much looking forward to running the marathon next month. Can't believe that it is already next month, it has gone quick... Well this is how we did it (raised my sponsorship). I say we because my whole family have been involved and helped.
We started last May, firstly my sister did "guess how many sweets in a jar" at her work place. Then our hairdresser kindly sold raffle tickets for us and the prize was a spa day. I did a poster to explain why I was raising the money and people gave willingly for this good cause.
Then the most part of the money was raised by cooking days. You see, we are an Italian family and my father does some lovely authentic home cooking, like nothing you could buy in the shops. We make "Pasta Al Forno", Italian meatballs and rice with italian sauce, tiramisu, cherry pie and at Christmas we did mince and apple pies.
So we would do cooking and sell to family, friends and work colleagues. It proved very successful. Work collegaues were even buying to take home, saving them having to good in the evening.
We would cook all weekend, then store in friends fridges; sometimes we did 70 portions of pasta. (I have included 2 pictures of the pasta dishes that we were cooking). We seemed like a little factory in our house and it looked like a military mission. Then on Monday my sister, mum and myself would leave the house with suitcases full of food in cold storage bags, to sell in our work places. People must have been thinking that we go on holiday very often! We work up London and had to traipse the suitcases on the underground which was a difficult job.
Our companies have been very kind in letting us sell the food on their work premises and my mum's company let her use the boardroom to offer sit down meals where she also served drinks.
We make homemade wine and at one particular food event while getting ready for the first diners to arrive she opened one of our homemade brews. Well the wine decided to explode (it was a 2 litre bottle) all over the place and to shield the room my mum placed herself over the bottle; she ended up soaked in wine from head to foot with the wine dripping from her chin.
But devastation had already been caused as the wine had soaked TV sets, computer equipment,
leather furniture, carpet and white walls.
It was amazing how kind and helpful her work colleagues were, who set about scrubbing and cleaning the room before the first guests arrived. They were scrubbing the walls with bleach in their office clothes; it was crazy! All looked fine except for the white walls, the stains wouldn't come off, it spread 6 feet one way and 4 feet on another wall. The boss had to be told; he wasn't
likely not to notice. Mum offered to pay for the walls to be painted, for which the money would have come from our own pocket not from the sponsorship raised. But the boss said that the company would foot the bill as it was for charity and such a good cause. It shows the kindness of people. Mum was very upset but we laugh about it now and it's a funny story to tell. The boss said that mum could still use the room for these fund raising events but to leave the home
made brew at home as it's too lively for their white walls!
So that is how we managed to raise the £1,300.00 and now I can concentrate on my training and raising more money via sponsorship.
I feel honored to be running for a charity such as yours and thank you for letting me do it.
Thank you Daniella for sharing your experience with us, we've lived through it with you!
Sponsor Daniella online: www.justgiving.com/danieladipadova
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