William, who attends Ferncumbe C of E Primary School, is joined on his daily two-mile runs by his mum and dad, and is due to finish with a flourish on Valentine’s Day. “I’m going to double it to four miles because it’s a special day,” he said.
Mum Emma, who is a nurse at Warwick Hospital, said: “I’m very proud of him. It’s a lovely thing to do and was all his own idea. He had enjoyed the treasure hunt that Molly Olly’s Wishes had organised over Christmas so much he decided he wanted to raise some money for them. He’s raised more than £460 so far. The charity told us that £500 is about the cost of one wish so we would like at the very least to achieve that.”
Molly Olly’s Wishes was established by Rachel and Tim Ollerenshaw in 2011 following the death of their eight-year-old daughter Molly from a rare kidney cancer.
The Hatton Park-based charity works to support children with terminal or life-limiting illnesses and their families and help with their emotional wellbeing as well as grant wishes and donate therapeutic toys and books to both children directly and to hospitals throughout the UK.
Mascot of the charity is a therapeutic toy lion called Olly The Brave who has his own Hickman line and a detachable mane which helps to explain and normalise the effects of chemotherapy. These form part of an Olly The Brave pack that has now been handed out to more than 40 hospitals, along with a book from the charity’s exclusive Olly The Brave series.