Charity ‘Zumbathon’ in memory of extraordinary young fundraiser raises over £3000

Held on Sunday 13^th November at All Saints’ Academy in Cheltenham, the three hour marathon of the Latin American ‘Zumba’ dance work-out continued the work of Rosie Kilburn, the founder of the charity website The Knock On Effect, who sadly passed away on 12^th September, aged 19.

Diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer in 2008 at the age of 16, Rosie decided to set up a ‘sustainable fundraising business’ which could:

‘break the taboo of cancer by getting people to talk about it.’

The project was funded through an art auction organised by Rosie, in which over 400 donated artworks were sold, generating an impressive £10,000.   The proceeds were used to set up The Knock On Effect, a website, blog and shop which sells a range of t-shirts, tea-towels, Christmas cards and other craft items.

With phrases such as ‘girls get cancer too’ and ‘CANCER: Completely Annoying, Never Caring, Exhausting Rhino’, these products are quirky and eye-catching.  In Rosie’s own words:

“The messages [on the t-shirts] are designed to be positive, and I know they are also controversial.  I didn’t want to shy away from telling people about cancer.”

In addition to her fundraising, Rosie was featured in a poster campaign for V.org, a charity that aims to inspire altruism and volunteering in the younger generations.  The posters, supporting the caption ‘Good for nothing’, seek to challenge popular misconceptions of teenagers as trouble-makers.  Rosie explained her support of the project as:

“Young people generally only really get bad press and I don’t like how it is always focused on the negative.  It’s a small minority of us who cause trouble; why not look at the good things?”

Thanks to the hard-work of friends, family and well-wishers, last Sunday’s Zumbathon has almost reached its target of £4,000.  The funds will be donated to Rosie’s favourite charity, Hope Support Services, which helps young people through family health crises.