A FIVE year old girl from Runcorn has raised £100 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust by combining her passions for dressing up and jumping on her garden trampoline.

Talia Cartwright, who lives in Runcorn, is one of 10,500 people in the UK who have cystic fibrosis and are classed as vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic.

She is one of a number of children across the country spearheading the 'Bouncer 4 CF' campaign which aims to raise much needed funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust whilst highlighting the precarious position that both adults and children with the condition currently face.

Talia's mum Danielle said: “This strict shielding lockdown is a difficult situation. “In order to protect Talia the whole family are restricted to just the house and garden. We can’t go outside for an hour to exercise as other members of the public can.

“Talia loves dressing up and she is always on her trampoline. The regular bouncing is part of her physio and is even more important now that she is unable to attend her usual dance classes.

"She is going to bounce every day in a different costume. We will share a daily video online asking people to support Talia’s efforts by sponsoring her on a fundraising link that we will share with the posts.”

She added: “With children, teenagers and adults with CF now facing a long period of isolation away from their friends, extended family and class mates, mental health is an important issue to deal with. An event like Bounce 4 CF is an important distraction, helping them to connect with the public and hopefully giving a boost to their morale, as they are doing something worthwhile to help raise funds and awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.”

The trust has seen an enormous increase in the demand for their emergency grants. The number of calls to their Helpline has doubled and their welfare team have recently handled a month’s worth of benefits enquiries in two weeks.

Explaining some of the difficulties for people living with the condition, campaigner Sue Barnes said: "People living with cystic fibrosis have to exercise daily to help to shift the thick, sticky mucus that builds up in their lungs and other organs.

“Some of the best activities for this, particularly for children, are bouncing activities like trampolining. Usually parents use a wide range of sports and classes to vary the activities and make physio more fun. But this is proving difficult in such limited circumstances."

“To help with motivation, some of our youngsters have decided to set themselves bouncing challenges, for example, bouncing for 20 minutes every day for a week or doing laps around the garden on a space hopper. They are sharing videos online and asking the general public to sponsor them on the following link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bounce4cf.

“We would also like to take this a step further and ask the wider public to join in by posting their own bouncing videos, donating on the above link or asking others to sponsor their own bouncing challenges. If they share the hashtag #Bounce4CF and the donation link with their videos, this will help to build support.”

To watch one of Talia's daily videos visit: https://www.facebook.com/danielle7c/videos/10163666900060154/

For full event details you can also visit the site at: https://www.facebook.com/events/3873423529366855/.