Hundreds of locals as well as the Council have put their support to a 5km charity fun run in the city to raise funds for a young child struck down by meningitis.
Through the Active Lifestyles and Health Improvement Team and the TRY Active programme, the Council has offered to help organise the Hope for Harmonie Fun Run.
The idea was put forward by Katie Hedges, who came up with the fund-raising scheme to support the parents of Harmonie-Rose Allen who was diagnosed with meningitis two weeks ago.
Until then, Harmonie-Rose Allen was a normal, happy baby.
Since being diagnosed, Harmonie-Rose has been on a life- support machine and her parents, Freya and Ross are facing the possibility that surgeons will have to remove her arms and legs.
Family and friends in Bath and beyond are now hoping to raise more than £40,000 to pay for prosthetics with a series of fund-raising events, including the 5-kilometre fun run on Sunday 30th November at the Odd Down Playing Fields.
The event will start at 1pm and consist of three laps of the cycle circuit.
Cllr David Dixon (Lib-Dem, Oldfield), the Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “It is my pleasure to be able to help with this fundraising event.
“The Council will do everything it can to support this event and ensure that we attract fun runners to raise as much money as possible for Harmonie.
“This story has touched many residents across the city and beyond. I know that I speak for everyone in the Council when I say that we hope and pray for her speedy recovery.”
Katie Hedges said: “I wanted to do something to help her have a brilliant future, to feel like she is and will be just like all the other children!
“She’s a beautiful little girl and is proving to everyone how strong she is, she deserves all the help she can get and I certainly won’t be giving up on helping her anytime soon!
Teresa Hedges, Katie’s mother, added: “You hear about these things, but they don’t hit home until they happen to people you know. I was friends with Harmonie’s grandma when I lived in Bath and know Ross, Harmonie’s dad.
“As soon as Katie and I heard about Harmonie’s condition we knew we had to do something to help. I have three young grandchildren and can’t imagine what the family must be going through.
“When Katie set up the Facebook page for the 5K run around the park, we only expected 20 people to take part.
“We have been overwhelmed by the response we have had with more than 350 people signed up on the event page and realised that we may have bitten off more than we could chew.
“We are both very grateful to the Council for their support, helping us to make this a safe and successful event.”
The Council’s TRY Active running activator, Stephanie Akpinar will be on hand to help the Race Director Tom Room from Running Relish Races make sure the event is safe and everyone has a good time.
Anyone interested in taking part should register via the Relish Running Races web site and complete the on-line application.
The event will be free to enter and participants are encouraged to donate to the Hope for Harmonie Appeal via the Justgiving webpage dedicated to Harmonie at www.justgiving.com/hope4harmonie.
People can also text donate by texting HFHR66 plus £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 to 70070.
To take part, go to Relish Running Races http://www.relishrunningraces.com/. The site will go live tomorrow (Friday).
