Get your odd socks on

Nearly two years ago, Snapdragons said goodbye to Abbie Dougherty, a much-loved and respected member of the Weston team, and we have missed her every day since. Abbie died of cancer after all available treatments were exhausted. With characteristic bravery and selflessness, Abbie told her best friend and fellow Chew Valley Cats rugby team member, Georgia "Porge" Bryant, that she would like to use her remaining time raising money for Teenage Cancer Trust, who had supported her throughout her illness. Porge threw herself into fundraising so that Abbie could achieve her final wish and she masterminded a campaign that raised £70,000 for the charity. Our wonderful Snapdragons parents contributed towards this amazing total by giving generously at a dedicated Chillfest event and by sponsoring our Pretty Muddy team.

Now we're asking for your help again. Just over a year after Abbie's death, Porge was diagnosed with Leukaemia and, after extensive treatment, has been told that all NHS options have failed. Porge's only hope now is to take part in a clinical trial of a new treatment but there is no NHS funding for this.

In Abbie's memory, we would like to support Porge, her family and friends as they try to raise £150,000 to fund the treatment and travel costs needed.

This week our teams are joining #ChewValleyCats in their #OddSocks campaign and we would love it if your children could join us. All you need to do is raid the bottom of your clean laundry basket to find the inevitable collection of odd socks there and send your children to nursery in the most mismatched socks you can find. Then donate £1 (or more if you wish) to the cause. We will be running the campaign all week, so together could raise over a £1000!

Follow Porge's story on her GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/poundsforporge. You can also follow her Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/poundsforporge/ or the hashtag #poundsforporge on Twitter.

Thank you all for your support and we can't wait to see your odd socks!