TWO zumba instuctors who have both lost their mothers to cancer are hosting a ‘zumbathon’ in aid of cancer care charity, Macmillan.
Aerobics instructors Kerri Chipper, 34, of Station road, Billingshurst, and Louise Ratcliffe, 37, of Gay Street Lane, Pulborough, are leading the energetic dance class from 10am to midday on Sunday May 6 at the Southwater leisure centre.
Mother of two, Louise, who lost her mum to lung cancer and secondary brain cancer four and a half years ago, said the £10 admission fee will go to the ‘amazing’ charity that helped her family through their trauma.
She said: “Macmillan were fantastic when my mum was in the last few weeks of her life, taking great care of her at home and giving myself and my father and sister all the support we needed at that time. I think they are amazing!”
Louise moved to Pulborough two years ago which is when she met Kerri and they discovered they had a lot in common.
“Kerri started attending one of my aerobics classes and we clicked,” Louise said, “She’s lovely and funny and a very chilled out person.”
Kerri, who has become an aerobics instructor since meeting Louise, said they have seen cancer affect a number of people they know.
She said: “We have a couple of ladies in our classes going through chemotherapy and another has just finished treatment.”
Kerri and her two sisters worked hard to look after their mother as she developed lung cancer and secondary brain cancer nine years ago.
“I took about nine weeks off work before and two to three weeks off after,” Kerri said, “Macmillan really helped my family because they would nurse her at the house and in the later stages they would stay through the night.
“One of my sisters gave birth three weeks after mum died which was kind of nice because it was like a new life and a distraction from the sadness but it was hard for her not having mum around to help.”
Kerri said that anyone is welcome to attend the zumbathon and they can stay for as long as they want.
She said: “We would like as many people there as possible as obviously the more people who come along the more money we will raise.”