Samworth Church Academy’s animal care unit has received a donation of £1100, raised by year 11 student Louise Mulvanny.
Louise carried out an arduous sponsored swim between Folkestone and Dover in late July and has subsequently collected a whopping £1100, which she presented to staff at the animal unit this month.
Louise said, “I wanted to raise the money to enrich the animal care unit as there were some things it didn’t have, and I thought I could help. I really love animals, and this was something I wanted to do.” Louise has plans to work for the RSPCA one day and is currently doing a BTec Animal Care course at the specialist unit based at The Samworth Church Academy.
Kirsty Price is Lead Teacher of Vocational and Social Sciences and said, “Louise is an amazing young lady. Not only has she raised £1100 to enhance the Animal Unit and enrich the animals’ lives, but she’s also spoken to pet shops whilst purchasing and they’ve agreed to donate extra on top! She is a remarkable and lovely student, who puts so much effort into all that she does. She’s been able to see how much the animals have enjoyed what she’s been able to purchase, -and especially the rats who are loving their new fleeces!”
Louise says she’s grateful to those who donated money or sponsored her swim. “Lots of friends and family either donated money or sponsored me. I want the money to be used to help the animals, to get whatever they need to make their lives better.
“I had never done anything like this swim before. I had never done the distance, which is probably a bit over 10 miles and made more difficult because of the tide. I had to wear a full body wetsuit because I was worried about being stung by jellyfish!”
Louise was joined on the swim by mum, Sarah Dunsbee, who has previous experience of channel relay swimming, and they were chaperoned by safety boats during the swim.
“It was cold,” said Louise, “but not so bad. I was a bit worried before, and there were times when I got really tired. Nearer to the end, when I was close to Dover, I felt quite sick- and worried I couldn’t carry on, but my mum helped me to keep going. I am proud that I have done it, and that I raised money for the animal care unit.”
Sarah Dunsbee, Louise’s mum said, “I am so proud of Louise. It’s not just the swim, but all the training in the lead up to doing it. She trained in lakes all last year and she now plays water polo too. This all started because we talked about my experiences swimming. It was a small conversation that led to big things, and I am so proud of her.”
