New year full of promise for Spalding mother and daughter

The new year has lots in store for a Spalding mother and daughter who are raising at least £4,500 in total for very different reasons.

Lisa (44) and Poppy Gill (12), of Grange Drive, are both in extensive training for challenges on the streets of London and a dance floor in the south-western part of the United States respectively.

Distance runner Lisa, an assistant head teacher at a Cambridgeshire special school, is putting in the miles ahead of her sixth London Marathon in April when she will be running for The Adolescent and Children’s Trust (TACT).

Meanwhile, Poppy is hoping to make history at the 16th World Hip Hop Dance Championships in Phoenix, Arizona, after her group, Unity Youth, claimed the highest ever placing for a UK entrant when finishing sixth last year.

Poppy, a Year 8 student at Spalding High School, said: “The fundraising is for my dance commitments this year which includes the British Hip Hop Dance Championships in Portsmouth next month.

“This is the qualification round for the World Championships and I’m hoping to raise at least £2,500 for the year by holding events like some street dance workshops for children in February and a quiz night in March.

As we’re both fundraising, we also thought of what would be the best way to give something back to the community

“My mother and I went around town where lots of local businesses gave us vouchers as raffle prizes.

“But as we’re fundraising, we also thought of what would be the best way to give something back to the community which is why we thought of running street dance classes during the half-term holidays for children aged five to 13.”

Lisa is hoping to run her fourth London Marathon in aid of TACT, a fostering and adoption service for children and young people in care.

“TACT supported me and my husband, Matt in looking after two girls as foster carers and we’ve seen at first-hand the importance of the charity’s work in providing better futures for children and young people,” Lisa said.

“For the last ten years, Matt and I have had two foster placements and doing other bits and pieces for TACT in terms of respite care before we moved from Cambridgeshire to Spalding two years ago.

“At the same time, we support Poppy in her dancing because it’s something she’s good at and feels passionate about.”

“So it’s a nice thing that Poppy and I are both fundraising, even though it’s for different reasons.”

To support Lisa, visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=Lisagill