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Nurse raises £2,500 for charity bouncing through city streets on a space hopper

Fundraising nurse space hops for 10k through streets of Sheffield city in four hours to raise £2,500 for Cavell Nurses’ Trust charity.   
Space hopping for charity

A fundraising nurse bounced through the streets of Sheffield on a space hopper in aid of Cavell Nurses’ Trust.

Taking part in the #10kForNurses campaign (from left to right): ​​​​​​Joan Pons
Laplana, Nick Chinn, Paul Jebb, Teresa Chinn and Victoria Lewis

James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust transformation nurse Joan Pons Laplana completed the Sheffield City10k challenge on 22 October.

The feat is part of a month-long fundraising drive by the Cavell Nurses' Trust, a charity that supports nurses experiencing hardship.

The charity's #10kForNurses campaign calls on supporters to help raise £10,000 during the month of October by running, walking, hiking or cycling 10km.

Four hours

It took Mr Laplana four hours to tackle the course on the space hopper – named Hoppity McHopface following a fundraising public vote.

Watch: Joan Pons Laplana cross the finish line

He told Nursing Standard: ‘I took it easy, but still had not trained as much as I probably should have.

‘It was exhausting. Definitely far harder than the Liverpool Rock ’n’ Roll marathon I did last year, which involved tweeting every mile of the race.

‘I’m so proud to have completed the hop though, and want to thank all the people who generously supported me. But I never want to see a space hopper again as long as I live.’

£3,000 target

More than 140 supporters have so far contributed £2,500 via his JustGiving page, just short of his £3,000 target.

Other people taking part in the #10kForNurses challenge are NHS England experience of care lead and nurse Kath Evans, and Nursing and Midwifery Council chief executive Jackie Smith, who have both pledged to run 100 miles in total this month.

The Cavell Nurses’ Trust helps working and retired nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants who are experiencing personal or financial hardship. Illness is the most common reason nursing professionals contact the trust; others include disability, older age and domestic abuse.

In July, the trust revealed it had seen a 32% rise in calls in the first half of 2017, with 1,179 calls received, compared with 891 in the same period in 2016.

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