Published on: Friday 01 Mar 2019 at 11:39
Super-gran Georgie takes to the racetrack for her annual Hospice fundraiser!
Avid St Clare Hospice supporter and ‘local legend’, Super-gran Georgie, will take on her annual charity fundraiser in March 2019 as she jumps into the driver’s seat at a Suzuki Swift Sport Cup Rally Car Race.
Goolmohr ‘Georgie’ Cantel is an 83-year-old grandmother of four from Bishop’s Stortford. During her five years volunteering at St Clare Hospice, Georgie has raised £14,000 for the charity through a series of adrenaline-fuelled challenges – as well as several charity Race Night and Afternoon Tea Party events.
Georgie enjoys stunning views of the Cornish countryside during her zip wire flight in 2018From 490m zip wire flights (50m above the ground!), to scaling the O2 in London and whizzing down Stratford’s Orbit slide, Georgie’s fundraising fun will this year be topped by her latest charity challenge in aid of St Clare.
2019’s hair-raising feat will see Georgie take to the racetrack at Langely Park Rally School in Saffron Walden on the morning of Saturday 30th March. Driving six-laps, each three miles long, Georgie will put ‘pedal to the metal’ in a Suzuki Swift Sport Cup rally car to raise vital funds for her local hospice.
“An instructor at the track will ‘show me the ropes’,” explains Georgie, “which includes how to negotiate sharp bends, dodge tires and cones placed on the track, and the feeling of going so fast on the track!
Georgie smiling for the camera as she climbed the O2 back in 2016“I’m really looking forward to the experience. I have to get used to driving a strange car – a manual, not automatic! I’ve done so many exhilarating challenges for St Clare now – I know what to expect when that adrenaline kicks in! That doesn’t mean that it won’t be difficult though, I am a little nervous. My grandchildren think I am too old for this!
“It’s a lot of fun to fundraise for the Hospice in this way, but the real reason that I do it is because I know how valuable their care is to local people. And with limited NHS funding, they need to raise around 60% of the entire cost of running the Hospice themselves.”
Georgie is a dedicated volunteer on St Clare’s Inpatient Unit, tending to patients and their relatives by offering a humble cup of tea or biscuit throughout the day, as well as a listening ear and a chat. Georgie’s role also includes keeping the Unit tidy of used plates and cups, in addition to serving meals to patients in their rooms throughout the day.
“My role at St Clare means that I see first-hand the difference their care makes to those who are staying on the Inpatient Unit,” says Georgie.
“If I can raise £1,500 for St Clare, I’ll know that I’m helping to support the Hospice to continue offering and developing its services. Every penny counts – so when I’m zooming around the race track on 30th March, I’ll be thinking of St Clare!”
Sponsor Georgie
Georgie is hoping to raise £1,500 for St Clare this year.
If you’d like to sponsor Georgie and make a donation to the Hospice, please visit her charity fundraising page at: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GoolmohrCantel