Our Idea

School wasn't the same without Emily, and we were all missing her kind smiles and funny jokes so much. We wanted to both do something for Emily, and help others, like we know she would have. Fundraising for her two charities seemed like the perfect way to do this, and so in a school sports lesson, we started building our idea. After lots of brainstorming, route planning, applying for permits and contacting the owner of Vlietand, we were able to start advertising for the run. Our posters and whole school emails (which probably weren't allowed!) were working, and our excel sign up sheet was filling up! Every time a new person signed up, we all got way too excited, especially when we reached 100!

Along with organising tables, the bake sale, microphones, registration and lots more, we needed to find a way to get sunflowers to mark the route. We were very kindly given 70 huge sunflowers by The Kleine Markt garden shop in Wassenaar. Sunflowers have always made people think of Emily. They are tall, beautiful and bright, just like she was. After the run, counting up what we'd raised, and talking to the charities about how it would be used, we realised how much had been achieved, but also that it was all really the impact that Emily had left behind.

-Anna

The Run

We marked the route on the morning of the run, setting out with bikes and bags covered by sunflowers, that were tied on in every possible way. We were even stopped by a couple of news reporters, who were wondering what all the flowers were for! After battling the wind with duct tape and cable ties, we finally finished the route and made it round the lake. We chose Vlietland because of the fun times we had there with Emily, that it will always remind us of.

Once everyone had arrived, we began the run, sounding a bike horn to set off the groups over a small bridge, decorated with colourful flags and more sunflowers. Luckily, the sunflowers stayed up long enough for everyone to complete the route, and make it back to the bake sale to enjoy some treats.

The run had such a fun atmosphere, with over 130 people (and dogs!) of all ages running, walking, chatting and even space scooting!  In total, we raised over 2,000 Euros for the charities, and it was amazing to see the happiness Emily will continue to bring to so many people.

-Bekka

The Bake Sale

Whilst the rest of the team participated in the run, one of my main jobs was to stay with another friend and help set up the bake sale for when everyone arrived back. We’d stacked all of the trays of cakes and cookies underneath a table and we had so many baked goods that it was barely the legs that were holding the table up anymore, it was all of the food instead! Both of us were quite touched and overwhelmed by this because we realised how much of an impact Emily had left. We received cakes from teachers at school, students from the Junior schools, and obviously Nicola, a friend that practically turned her kitchen into the Great British Bake Off for the weekend.

Once people started to come back, the money jars started to fill up very quickly, as well as a donation box. We were given a €20 note in exchange for a cake that cost €2,00 and were told we could keep the change; it was amazing to see how generous people were being. At one point, I took a step back and just looked around for a few seconds, I noticed that the area we were using was completely full. It was full of music, colour, and people who were laughing and enjoying their time, that was exactly what Emily’s life was full of. Looking back now, I’ve realised that although my friends and I did put a lot of hard work in, it was really Emily behind the entire event. She is someone that we love and miss so much that we felt we had to do this in order to keep her memory and her beliefs alive.

-Ella

Sunflower Run 2020

The Sunflower Run is a yearly 7.5 kilometre run or walk to remember Emily, that raises money for Emily’s Garden Foundation. Last year was a bit different because, due to Covid 19, we had to do it virtually. We raised an amazing total of €8,955 and collectively ran 2058.56km! The run took place between July 11th and 19th. We had sunflower runners across the globe, sharing their photos and stories and raising money for Emily’s Garden. The competition for fastest 7.5km was won by Oliver Herrington in 30 minutes and 32 seconds. Overall, everyone did an amazing job and the money raised went to The Environment Society of Oman’s ‘Green Schools Initiative’ and ‘The Walk’ two wonderful projects that Emily’s Garden Foundation supports.

-Natalie