Page 37 - RADC Bulletin 2021

CHARITY
Cycle for Azaylia
Cpl L Smith
I came across the story of a little girl, through social media, a few weeks before she lost her fight from a rare form of leukaemia at just 8 months old.
Following both her and her parents day to day, seeing what they were all going through broke my heart. I was riding on the watt bike one day and thought what can I do for this family? So I decided to cycle 80km a day for 8 consecutive days to remember the 8 months Azaylia lived.
My aim was to raise money for the Women’s and Children’s Birmingham Hospital
who supported Azaylia throughout her short life. They undertook extensive treatment for Azaylia including numerous platelet transfusions.
I hadn’t ridden a bike outside since secondary school and certainly never clipped in with cleats! But I knew that this was a much more efficient way to ride when covering distance, so I changed my pedals and got a sturdy helmet!
Luckily, I discovered that the Welfare Officer on camp was an excellent cyclist. She supported me throughout the challenge and showed me some of the beautiful routes around Shropshire.
To get ready for the challenge, I trained a lot on my own. During this time had quite a few falls and got lost along the way but the whole time I thought of that little girl and what she would do, she would get up keep going and fight!
In the end, the challenge was done using a combination of the road bike and the watt bike. I did 5 outdoor rides and 3 inside, there were a few days where I rode alone but on these occasions the discovery of good coffee and cake shops kept me in the saddle!
640 km later, along with a few hot baths, yoga sessions and a sports massage, I raised just over £1,300 for the charity!
Foodbank Delivery Pte M Fox
The Trussell Trust Foodbank run by
the Christchurch group in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, is a key provider of essential food for families and members of the community all year round and has been doing so for the last 11 years.
However, 2020 has challenged even the most robust of communities, the vast number of individuals who have been made redundant during the coronavirus pandemic has meant that foodbanks are in higher demand than ever before.
Working within the MOD, we have been very lucky and privileged to have a stable job and thus were able to receive a regular wage. Therefore, we felt this was the prime opportunity to give back to our community and help where possible. We distributed posters and leaflets with a list of desired food and toiletries provided by the foodbank. Within a few days, we saw huge quantities of full shopping bags being piled into the reception area of the Dental Centre from staff members of the Dental and Medical Centre.
On Friday 11th December 2020, Cpl Crook and I delivered the goods to the Christchurch group where we met with Sue, the coordinator, to sort through donations from the community. She and her fellow colleagues were overwhelmed with the donations we had bought over and were very grateful for us staying to sort through and help lift some heavy boxes.
We are very proud of the contribution we made and feel humble knowing how many families are going to benefit from these Christmas hampers.
RADC BULLETIN 2021 35