Our charitable efforts



Zena and Sophie with the buffet

This is the amazing spread put on by our wonderful education correspondent (and newsroom mummy) Zena Hawley, which meant that I didn't need to go out shopping for lunch yesterday (supermarket-free link ticked).

But there's an important story behind all this yummy food - and a very good cause that we're trying to promote.

It all started last year, when our reporter Sophie Evan's grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer. Luckily it was treatable and following surgery she has now made a full recovery.

Derby Tel girls doing Race for Life last year - Sophie is far right

But this got us ladies in the newsroom talking about doing something to raise money for breast cancer charities. We started off by taking on the Race For Life in Derby's Darley Park, last summer, in aid of Cancer Research UK.

Then the boys in the newsroom followed suit by growing their facial hair for 'Movember' to support male cancer charities. And of course us ladies got to laugh at all the ridiculous handle bars and 70s porn star mos.






Derby Tel boys (plus me with a stick-on) doing Mo-vember

But then we (or rather - I) decided we needed a bigger project to get our teeth into.

"Let's do the Moonwalk," I suggested.

The Moonwalk is a 26 mile walk, starting at midnight, through the streets of London (it follows the same route as the London Marathon), to raise money for the fight against breast cancer, and all participants take part in decorated bras.

I did it with two friends in 2005. So I was the driving force behind Sophie signing up to do it this year, along with a handful of the other newsroom women.

And then, of course, I ducked out.

Well, actually not quite ducked out. I went out and bought a snazzy new pair of actual sports trainers and everything. But then my doctor put his foot down and told me that no way could I go walking for 26 miles on my dodgy hip. And then the other girls ducked out too.

So this week, after months of training, brave Sophie will take on the Moonwalk on her own. And we in the office have spent the past few months fundraising to support her, which is where Zena's buffet comes into it, because we all had to pay £2.50 each to eat.

To make a donation to support her go to www.walkthewalkfundraising.org/soph-e.