Bakewell schoolboy’s £150k pledge

Exactly two years after he was diagnosed with leukaemia, a Bakewell schoolboy has raised almost £40,000 for the hospital that treated him.
Andrew Davies, left, with school friends Holly Jones, Poppy Webb, Charlie Knowles, Toby Newsome, Jake Fawcett and Aidan Gilbert. Photo contributed.Andrew Davies, left, with school friends Holly Jones, Poppy Webb, Charlie Knowles, Toby Newsome, Jake Fawcett and Aidan Gilbert. Photo contributed.
Andrew Davies, left, with school friends Holly Jones, Poppy Webb, Charlie Knowles, Toby Newsome, Jake Fawcett and Aidan Gilbert. Photo contributed.

But that’s not enough for 15-year-old Andrew Davies. He’s pledged to raise £150,000 for Sheffield Children’s Hospital to cover the cost of his bone marrow transplant last year and plans to climb Kilimanjaro and do a skydive, once his immune system has recovered.

“One of the nurses was telling him about the massive process and how expensive it was and he said: ‘I’m going to do some fundraising, how much does it cost?” laughed mum Alison. “I gulped when he told me, and thought how are we going to do this?! He’s very determined, which you have to be to undergo cancer treatment. He will keep going. I think he’s doing amazingly well.”

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The Lady Manners pupil is now well on his way with his promise, having donated £36,000 to the M3 cancer ward via the Children’s Hospital Charity, with at least £2,000 in sponsorship yet to collect.

The year 10 student’s latest challenge was walking the 81-mile Dales Way with six friends over five days from West Yorkshire to Cumbria. Mum-of-two Alison said: “He found it really tiring but it just proves what you can do even if you’ve been really poorly.” Starting off by selling Support for Andrew wristbands, the Old Brampton’s teen’s campaign has spiralled with sizable donations from friends, family and his primary school.

To make a donation, visit justgiving.com/LMS-DalesWayChallenge.