Thirteen schools in the Dorchester area ran ‘Miles for Mosaic’ at the end of April to support the charity Mosaic which supports bereaved children.
Adding up all the individual running distances, between teachers and pupils, the schools collectively ran 4,783 miles which equates to over 182 marathons or the distance of Dorchester to India.
Some children at St Mary’s Middle in Puddletown ran a solo marathon over two days.
The week began on 22nd April – the day after the London Marathon – with a joint Zoom assembly for all schools taking part. It was hosted by Mrs Cheeseman, headteacher at Milborne St Andrew First School and Mosaic Head of Experiences and Events, Zoe Minogue-Hughes spoke to all of the children and teachers about the charity, and how all their running and fundraising is to support children who have experienced the loss of someone they love. Children involved in the assembly were asked to cheer for their schools and played some ‘virtual’ games together before giving loud and enthusiastic applause to begin the week of running.
Each school approached the event in their own way, with some schools simply getting outdoors for an allotted time and running as far as they could. In some schools, the children stacked up cubes for each lap of the field, adding them up to a mile, making it a mathematical challenge. Schools also set up their own fundraising pages for sponsorship and the amount raised to date currently stands at £9,877.
Mosaic staff and volunteers tried to get out to visit schools during the week and were so impressed by the amount of energy and enthusiasm.
Zoe Minogue-Hughes from Mosaic said: “It was an absolute joy to visit schools during Miles for Mosaic. Teachers and staff were so well organized, counting laps, setting up Just Giving pages, taking photos to share with our community, happy to support the charity, often knowing families who have had bereavement support from Mosaic. The children were full of joy, vitality and kindness, being outdoors running with their friends and connecting with other local schools in a big event. Thank you to all the teachers, staff, children and sponsors involved in supporting Mosaic and making Miles for Mosaic happen!!”
Mosaic are seeing unprecedented levels of requests for help from schools and families who want to support children and young people who have experienced a bereavement.
(Mosaic CEO, Jo Revill commented: “Last year (2023) we were able to provide counselling to 412 children and young people across Dorset – an increase from the year before as we emerged from the Covid pandemic. In the first quarter of this year, we have already received 172 new requests for referrals for help – this represents a 47% increase on the previous year. It is vital we continue to fundraise and find new partnerships to be able to continue to offer this support to Dorset families.”
If you would like to make a donation to support Mosaic, please visit: www.justgiving.com/mosaicfamilysupport
Many thanks to all schools involved: Bere Regis Primary; Cerne Abbas CE VC First School; St Mary’s CE VC First School, Charminster; Cheselbourne Village School; Colehill and Hayeswood First School, Wimborne Minster; Damers First School; Frome Valley First School, Crossways; Manor Park CE First School; Milborne St Andrew First School; The Prince of Wales School; Puddletown CE VC First School and St Mary’s CE Middle School, Puddletown.
