A Handforth mum will be donning their walking boots and trekking to the summit of the highest peak in North Africa to raise money for a children's charity in memory of her daughter Hannah.
Danielle, her husband Phil Jones and two sisters Andrea Mansfield and Lesley Evans will be raising at least £6000 for the Children's Adventure Farm Trust by taking part in the gruelling 5-day trek up Mount Toubkal in Morocco.
Danielle is no novice at this kind of challenge as she also completed the Costa Rica coast to coast bike ride for CAFT along with her work colleagues Nick Gardner, Grant Barton and Julie Barton in 2013.
Danielle said "We are all really looking forward to it but we are nervous because a lot of reviews say that it is a difficult challenge with some pretty steep scrambles! We'll do it though, we might not be the fittest group but we are all strong willed and determined and together we can do anything especially with Hannah spurring us on."
The charity means a lot to the family following the loss of their daughter Hannah who was a pupil at Wilmslow High School. Hannah tragically died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning whilst staying at a campsite in Bucknell, South Shropshire in May 2012. She is thought to have been poisoned by fumes from a disposable barbecue which had been left in the porch of the tent overnight.
Danielle explained "We lost Hannah aged 14 in a sudden and devastating accident on holiday over the bank holiday weekend. She was a lovely, amazing, loving and funny teenager who had a great group of close friends. She always made friends quickly wherever we visited and never ever left anyone out. Whilst we her family knew she was special, she was the centre of our world we had no idea of the positive impact she had on so many people's lives until we lost her."
When the company Danielle works for nominated CAFT to be their company charity she told Hannah all about CAFT and showed her the website when she volunteered as a mascot at Christmas.
Danielle added "She instantly loved the charity and raised money for them at her school non uniform day. It was natural for us to choose this charity to raise money for in Hannah's memory because of everything CAFT stands for.
"Hannah treated everyone she met as an individual, she could see strengths in people that others could not see. CAFT pride themselves on bringing a little light and fun into the lives of children who have known terrible hardships and that is all that Hannah ever wanted, to bring light and laughter to everyone she met. We miss Hannah terribly every single day but knowing that we are helping others in her memory brings us comfort and a will and drive to carry on."
Danielle and her team have already raised nearly £3000 for CAFT in the run-up to the challenge and are busy organising a charity race night and duck race in October.
Danielle's charity race night will be held at 7pm on Saturday 3rd October at The Railway pub in Handforth. Tickets can be bought in advance from The Railway and cost just £5 each, this entry fee will include hot food, a comedian, and lots of horse racing.
Photo: Hannah with her mum Danielle.
