Banbridge Academy were delighted to present their own teacher, Emma McCullough, with a cheque for £500.00 in support of a charity challenge she took on in the summer. This amount was raised in their weekly charity collection showing the support from both pupils and staff for Miss McCullough.

The Art Teacher joined a team of friends that came together to raise money and awareness for Robbie Trimble and Epilepsy. They decided to kayak both the Upper and Lower Bann (80 miles) over the weekend of 15th July 2022. Emma is a seasoned kayaker but joined a group of some that had only sat in one for the first time a couple of months prior to the challenge.  This was no easy challenge for the group with low waters, weirs, and strong head winds just some of the physical and mental battles they had to face over the two and half days.

Robbie Trimble was diagnosed with KCNQ2 Early Onset Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy, a genetic disorder that causes seizures within the first days of life. There are only 700 known cases Worldwide and only a 1 in 26,000 chance of it happening.  No one knows what the future holds for this precious boy, but we know all the money raised will be a massive help to him.

When asked about her challenge Emma said, “The competitive nature in a few of us helped in making sure we kept paddling, no matter how strong the head wind or how sore the arms.  Seeing the Trimble and McKnight families awaiting us at the shores as we finished really made it all worthwhile.  I’m so glad I could be a part of it and raise funds and awareness.”

Robbie’s mother Stacey Trimble spoke of the fundraising team saying; “When friends decided to do a fundraiser for Robbie we were very overwhelmed, we couldn’t believe that people wanted to take on this massive challenge for our little boy.  It means the world to us that we have such fantastic support out there and we have the opportunity to raise awareness for epilepsy.  With the money raised we will also be giving a donation to the Young Epilepsy Foundation and the Children’s Ward in Daisy Hill Hospital.  We will never be able to thank people enough for all they have done for us, we are beyond blessed and we hope that we can be there for other parents faced with this life changing diagnosis.”

Follow Robbies story on Instagram

https://instagram.com/robbiet.vs.kcnq2?utm_medium=copy_link

Also follow “Rowing for Robbie” on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/RowingforRobbie/

Pictured Mr Robin McLoughlin (Principal), Miss Emma McCullough (Teacher), representatives of the charity committee Emily Reid, Kaitlyn Herron and Will Egerton