A fundraising coffee morning raised over £1,025 towards a charity team skydive planned by daredevil Network Rail workers from Ely

Cambs Times: Ely Network Rail fundraising skydivers held a coffee morningEly Network Rail fundraising skydivers held a coffee morning (Image: Archant)

The 20-strong team are set to jump from a plane on August 12 and are looking to raise £7,900 by their efforts for the St Thomas’s Lupus Trust.

They have set the mammoth challenge after colleague Marcela Sands, section administrator at the Network Rail depot in Station Road, was diagnosed with Lupus last August.

The St Thomas’ Lupus Trust is a registered charity dedicated to raising funds to support vital pioneering work of the Lupus Research Team and the patient unit at St Thomas’ Hospital.

Marcela was diagnosed after an optician noticed a build-up of pressure in the left eye during a routine eye test.

She underwent numerous tests including MRI scans before being diagnosed with Lupus.

She said: “The symptoms of Lupus are awful some days to cope with. They have a wide range including: Fatigue, flu like symptoms, constant headaches, painful and swollen joints, trouble concentrating, photosensitivity, numbness and pains in the face and head.”

The coffee morning on last Tuesday (10) was the first of a series of fundraising events being organised to help the team reach their target.

They had a massive array of raffle prizes and home made cakes for the event and Marcela said: “We had amazing support and we would just like to thank everyone who donated a prize. We were amazed by the amount we raised.”

In the meantime the group have launched an inhouse Bear with No Name competition and are asking More information on Lupus can be found here.

http://www.lupus.org.uk

To sponsor the skydivers visit: https://www.justgiving.com/Network-Rail-Ely-Depot?utm_id=58