£26,500 fundraising drive in memory of Corrine
14.12.10
A BEREAVED Nottingham mum has donated a piece of vital equipment worth £1,985 to researchers trying to find a vaccine for meningitis.
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Jackie Hill has now funded eight pieces of high-tech equipment across the country since her daughter Corrine Rae died from the deadly disease in April 2001, aged 11.
She's supporting Meningitis UK's research to find a vaccine for all forms of meningitis and has now raised over £26,500.
The latest donation is £1,985 for a freezer storage system at the Centre for Molecular Sciences at Nottingham University.
Jackie said she's pleased that money she's fundraised can be used locally to help in the fight against meningitis.
She said: "When we first lost Corrine there was no research being carried out into potential vaccines locally, so it's nice to be able to see for ourselves that it's being put to good use."
Dr Karl Wooldridge is leading a Meningitis UK-funded project at the University of Nottingham, which look at how proteins could be used in a potential vaccine to protect against Meningitis B.
He said: "We are extremely grateful to Jackiefor this generous donation.
"Our research isfocused on studying how the meningococcus bacteria cause meningitis and septicaemia, with an ultimate aim of developing novel vaccines or therapies.
"This involves storage of large numbers of bacterial strains. Keeping track of these is an arduous task.
"The new equipmentwill allow us to quickly locate stored materials and will become increasinglyuseful as individual researchers store more material, and particularly as groupmembers change."
Jackie, from Belwood Close, said she never dreamt they would raise such a large amount of money in memory of Corrine.
The 52-year-old said: "The day after I lost Corrine I said I wanted to fundraise. It's helped me to cope and is a way of keeping Corrine's memory alive.
"To reach £26,500is fantastic. All this has had adevastating effect on my family and I still can't believe my little girl won'tbe coming home again.
"We don't want people to go through what we have, which is why we will keep fundraising until a vaccine is found."
Jackie's ultimate goal would be to see a vaccine found for Meningitis B – the strain which killed Corrine.
It's the most common strain in thiscountry and can kill in less than four hours.
Meningitis UK's chief executive Steve Dayman, who lost his son Spencer to the disease, says it's thanks to the dedication of supporters like Jackie and her family that avaccine for Meningitis B could be just several years away.
He said: "Jackie, her family and all their supporters should be very proud to have made such a significant contribution in memory of Corrine.
"The devastation they've experienced reinforces the importance of finding a vaccine sooner rather than later.
"With their help, and the support of the general public, we're confident that one day thousands of people's lives will be saved."
Meningitis UK aims to raise £7million to help fund vital cutting-edge research into developing a vaccine to protect against all forms of meningitis.
The charity's just launched a winter awarenesscampaign which urges people to look out for each other in the cold weather when cases peak.
The charity's urging people to request a free poster, which they're then encouraged to distribute to their local GP surgeries, schools, nurseries or any establishment which might display it.
To request a poster or a free symptoms information pack to help raise awareness, call 0117 373 7373 or visit www.meningitisUK.org.
MeningitisUK · Registered Charity No.1076774
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