AN ANIMAL lover who could not even swim a length of a swimming pool nine months ago is pushing her body to the limit life to raise plenty of cash for a cause close to her heart.
Helen Tuite is in the midst of a charity challenge in which she is taking part in 14 gruelling events to try and tot up £2,014 for RSPCA Birmingham Animal Centre.
The Church Hill North resident, who used to work at the centre, has pushed herself to the limit in sponsored races ranging from triathlons and half marathons to the 10k Wolf Run – a muddy obstacle course.
On Sunday (September 14) Helen completed her ninth event, the Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon in Wales, bringing her total raised so far to £1,400.
Helen will finally be able to put her feet up on October 19 when she finishes her final fund-raiser – the Great Birmingham Run.
“At the start of this year, I couldn’t even swim a whole length of crawl, and now I’m doing triathlons, some of which include swimming in lakes.” she said.
“I am so grateful to Charles Grosvenor Ltd for supporting me with my challenge.
“I have raised approximately £1,400 so far, but I am still hoping to raise the rest with the help of the local community of Redditch.”
Russell Annis, director at Webheath based Charles Grosvenor Ltd, said they had no hesitation in supporting Helen who worked at the company until last month.
“We are all animal lovers here, so therefore didn’t hesitate to support Helen when she told us what she was doing to raise money for the animals at the local RSPCA centre in Birmingham.
“Being a dog owner myself, I know how important it is to be a responsible pet owner. But they give so much love in return that it’s all worth it.”
Anyone who wants to sponsor Helen can log onto http://choices.rspca.org.uk/helens-2014-challenge or contact her on 07941 416303.
