Fundraising Newport teens prepare for mammoth hike in support of friend's cancer battle
Four Shropshire teens are getting ready to set off on a mammoth charity walk to support their friend in her battle with cancer.
On Saturday, Burton Borough pupils Mia Smart, Taylor Dury, Issy Simmons and Mary Antwi will be undertaking a huge 32-mile hike, raising money for cancer research.
The four teens will walk from Birmingham Children's Hospital all the way back to their Newport school in just one day.
Just two months ago their friend, Anmol Basi, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at just 15 years old.
Wasting no time, the group banded together in support of Amnol and organised the mammoth undertaking.
Mia, 15, said Amnol - who the girls described as an outgoing, funny girl "who would do anything for a laugh" - was sceptical of their plans at first.
Mia said: "She was like, 'You're joking right? You're actually going to do that?'"
But after weeks of planning and prepping, the teens are getting set for the longest walk of their lives.
In the last few weeks, they have been hiking around Shropshire, taking on longer and longer walks. Their longest, 24 miles, saw them conquer half of Telford's T50 trail.
Now, after just two months of fundraising, the teens have smashed their target of £1,500 and raised a staggering £2,175 for Cancer Research UK.
Mia said: "I think we said it as a joke, 'let's aim for £1,000!', so we set it at £500, and then we reached £500 and we thought okay, we'll up it by £100 and then we hit £1,000 and then we were at £2,000.
"I don't think we can really believe it."
Amnol, who is currently undergoing treatment, said she felt blessed to call them her friends.
She said: "I’m so lucky to have them as my friends, what they’re doing is amazing and I’m really proud of them."
Head of Chetwynd School, Maria Griffiths said Anmol was overwhelmed with the support of her friends.
She said: "It means the world to her. We're so, so proud of them at the school, proud of Anmol for how she's coping with everything, and proud of everything the girls are doing for her.
"We're blown away. They're doing it with such modesty, it's so important to recognise what these wonderful young people are doing for their friend."
The group's fundraising page is still open for donations, which can be made by at fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/amelias-giving-page-152544
