Marilyn Stowe Blog

Stowe Family Law puts its trainers on for charity. By Nastassia Burton.

Over the past few weeks, members of the Stowe Family Law team from the firm’s offices in Greater Manchester and Central London have taken part in charity walks to raise money for two very worthy causes.

This weekend it was the turn of the Hale office. Five of us, including Kate Rayner, Eleanor Webster, Kath Whelpdale and Tracey Pogson, braved the rain on Saturday 16 June 2012 to take part in the Manchester Midnight Walk. A 10 km walk around some of Manchester’s greatest sites, the event supports St Ann’s Hospice in Greater Manchester.

Every year, St Ann’s provides care and support to around 3,000 people over the age of 16 who are affected by cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. The hospice also helps to support families and carers, and aims to deliver care that is special and unique to each individual. It employs around 400 members of staff and receives help from almost 800 volunteers. St Ann’s has to raise £16,000 every day in order to provide the highest quality of care throughout the Greater Manchester area.

The Manchester Midnight Walk began at Manchester Central, where we enjoyed the pre-walk entertainment and live music, before braving the torrential downpours to complete the walk alongside more than 2,700 participants.  The route took us past Manchester Cathedral, Castlefield, Granada Studios, St Ann’s Square and Manchester University. We also passed the Garden of Remembrance, where participants were able to write a message, light a candle and show thanks to St Ann’s Hospice for the outstanding care given to the community. The theme was A Walk to Remember, and many of the walkers took part in memory of loved ones.

It was a very rainy evening, but we walked at considerable speed and we were delighted to become one of the first groups to cross the finish line. Walking through the streets of Manchester in the rain is nothing in comparison to what is borne by the families supported by St Ann’s Hospice, and we were all honoured to walk on their behalf to help raise money for such an important and worthwhile cause.

Members of our team from the Stowe Family Law office in London also took part in the London Legal Walk in support of The London Legal Support Trust last month. On 21 May 2012, Gavin Scott, Paul Read, Holly Lamb and Zoe Jackson joined the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Attorney General and 6,000 other walkers from the legal profession to take part in a 10 km walk around some of London’s most well-known sites, including the Palace of Westminster and the Jubilee Gardens.

The London Legal Support Trust supports law centres and legal advice agencies in London and the South East by providing much-needed funding and support. Stowe Family Law recognises just how fundamental this is, and our solicitors in London were delighted to contribute. This year the London Legal Walk raised a staggering £525,000. 

Some of the photographs from our two charity walks are featured in the gallery below. We would like to thank everyone who supported and sponsored us.

Nastassia Burton went to the University of Leeds, graduating in 2007 with an LLB (Hons) 2:1 in Law. In 2008, she completed her Legal Practice Course at The College of Law in Chester. Nastassia has always had a keen interest in Family Law and joined Stowe Family Law’s Cheshire office when it opened in July 2008. She commenced her training contract in August 2008, qualifying in August 2010.