“I’m immensely proud” - Calvin, 7, raises over £1,000 for hospice that cared for his little sister

Thea Walker, who died in February 2019 aged two years and nine months, had a progressive metabolic disease called Niemann Pick Type A, which affects the way fats, liquids, and cholesterol are stored or removed from the body.

But the support the family received from the Forget Me Not Hospice inspired Thea and Calvin’s mum Gabriella to take part in the Great Manchester Run to raise money for the hospice.

And now Calvin has taken up the fundraising mantle but running a mile a week for four weeks in aid of Forget Me Not.

“I’m immensely proud, I absolutely cannot believe how well he’s done, how much money he’s raised and his commitment,” said Gabriella.

“I’m not sure I could have done it, at seven.

“Carl, Calvin’s dad, and I have both been blown away by the support he’s received and by Calvin’s enthusiasm for doing it he’s shown.

“The support we’ve had, it’s hard to put into words, but it means so much to us.

“Some of the people that used to work with Thea have contributed, it makes you very, very humble to see that, and all the love people are showing.

“It’s such an important organisation. It’s essential care and support they provide, they fill the gap between local authorities and health services.

“We couldn’t have survived without them so the fact we can do something to help support other children like Thea is phenomenal.”

Calvin did his last mile last weekend but has said he wants to keep the challenge going for another month and has smashed his initial target of £300.

“£300 is a lot of money, we didn’t want to make it too difficult to achieve, but he really, really wanted to raise £300,” said Gabriella.

“I said ‘£300 is an awful lot of money Calvin’ and he said ‘well we can try can’t we’. And he’s managed to absolutely blow the target out of the water.

“I said ‘you could bake a cake or something a bit less big’ but he was insistent, absolutely adamant he was going to do it.”

To donate, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/calvinsrun.