When Kent Rhodes passed away in 2018 it was devastating for his family, friends and all of those who knew him from within the ActionCOACH family. But during the intervening years, his colleagues at the franchise have held a series of events in his name to raise money for charity.
Recently, a team of walkers undertook a huge 20-mile hike in the Peak District with the purpose of raising even more cash for the chosen charity, Children with Cancer UK. The walkers crossed three peaks, scaling heights of over 1,000 feet, and by the completion of this latest challenge had added another £17,000 to the fund. Cumulatively, over four years, this brings the current total to £64,000.
Kent, who was a franchise partner with ActionCOACH, died from a brain tumour in December 2018 on his 49th birthday. His mother Sue travelled to the UK from South Africa to attend this year’s challenge and gave this heartfelt response: “It was an incredible event in my darling son’s honour. The fact that his legacy remains alive four years following his death is testimony to the values and ethos of the ActionCOACH community.
“It means a great deal to me that children who are suffering from this awful disease, will benefit from these fundraising efforts. I’m so grateful to ActionCOACH who were such a big part of Kent’s life. It makes me emotional to think about how incredible the support has been since he passed.”
Ian Christelow, founder of ActionCOACH UK, added: “Unfortunately, there are still too many parents each day who hear the dreaded news about their child having cancer. If our efforts can help to reduce this number, then we would have done Kent proud. Kent always wanted to make a difference to his clients and his community. The fact we can continue to be inspired by his impact, in even a small way every year, is the least we can do.”
Over the past four years, the ActionCOACH community has completed numerous challenges in Kent’s name. Among those heavily involved in these annual challenges are Andrew Kureishy, March Eccles and Sanjiv Dodhia; with Alan Smith set to pick up the baton for next year’s event.
Marc Eccles, who was coached and mentored by Kent, said: “We want as many kids as possible to ring the bell at the end of their successful treatments. We’re aiming to raise £20,000 overall from this particular challenge, which means just another £3,000 to go. This remains a fantastic tribute to Kent’s legacy. Any contributions from the franchise community would be fantastic.”
To find out more about the fundraising efforts, or to donate, please visit: https:/www.justgiving.com/fundraising/actioncoachkrc2022.
