THE Bude support group for the charity Animal Free Research UK certainly started the new year with a bang.

2020 marked their fifth birthday and they set out to hit the £30,000 mark by the anniversary in November. Penny Baxter was all set to embark on her sponsored ‘Run, Walk, Crawl’ of 60 miles from Bude to the Animal Free Research Centre of Excellence in Exeter and there were many other interesting events in the calendar. The rest is history as they say, COVID-19 hit and all planned events were cancelled like so many other local groups.

Steph Jones-Giles, community ambassador said: “With no face to face meetings either, we had to think on our feet. Thank goodness for social media! We made use of Just Giving as well as our Facebook group and were able to recycle many items to raise funds. This was a real team effort with all members working hard, however special mention must go to Team Nos Nom for their phenomenal 2.6 challenge, Curtis Wilson, Julie Barlow and Karen Thomas. In 2020 we raised a staggering £4,017.62 which takes us over the £31,000 mark.

“We have close contact with professor Lorna Harries and her team in Exeter and through discussion it is so obvious how much difference the money makes to them as a team. Funds raised by the Bude group directly support their research into diabetes and COVID-19.”

Steph continued: “We have found interesting ways to navigate in this new world and it is a credit to our small community that we have continued to receive such a lot of support even when we know every single charity and community cause is in the same position as us and some individuals are facing hardship already with loss of jobs.”

Looking at brighter horizons, Steph hopes that the new year will allow for more fundraising. She said: “Moving into 2021, it is impossible to plan too far ahead however the group are hoping that Penny will be able to restart her training and undertake her Run, Walk, Crawl challenge in the autumn or when it is safe to do so. Anyone who would like to offer encouragement can follow Penny on her Just Giving Page.”