Community Shines for Shani: third annual sponsored walk for heart defect charity

A charity set up in memory of a 5-year old who died from a complex congenital heart defect raised more than £50,000 in its third annual sponsored walk.

Shine for Shani was set up in memory of Shani Berman from Elstree, Hertfordshire, who died in 2017.

This year on Sunday 10 September, 140 participants mainly composed of friends and family, walked through the streets of London and Hertfordshire, raising funds towards two important projects at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

The first group of walkers set out for a marathon walk, starting at GOSH, inspired by words of encouragement from Simon Berman, Shani’s father, and one of the team at the GOSH Children’s Charity.

The walk took participants on a scenic route to Tower Bridge, past the London Eye and Buckingham Palace, before heading through Piccadilly Circus and out towards Regents Park.

Along the way a huge team of volunteer marshals in bright lime green t-shirts offered encouragement and refreshments. At 13 miles more walkers joined the group and strode on through Hampstead Heath and into Golders Hill Park.

Finally at 5.75 miles, a distance chosen to symbolically reflect how old Shani was in years when she died following complex open heart surgery, the rest of the participants joined in, including many families and a few brave runners.

Walkers ranged in age from 8 to 80 and all the participants were greeted with medals and cups of tea as they crossed the rainbow coloured balloon arch finish line at Borehamwood Shul.

Simon Berman, said:  “We’ve been Shining for Shani as a family and a community ever since she died. With the glorious sunshine we’ve had all week, it’s almost as if Shani was shining back at us and was part of everything we did for the Pulse Challenge”.

Shine for Shani fundraises to help improve the life chances of children with heart conditions. The monies raised will go towards funding new £70,000 SmartAblate Equipment, a machine used to treat a range of childhood heart conditions, with the potential to dramatically improve the quality and/or length of time patients stay at GOSH.

The technique involves destroying cells that are causing the heart to beat irregularly and is performed via cardiac catheter – a procedure in which a thin tube is fed through a tiny incision in the skin, along veins or arteries and into the heart, guided by imaging.

Shani had a number of these types of her procedure during her short life.

Fundraising will also be for the purchase of a Cardiothoracic Educational Mannequin for Cardiac Intensive Care to allow even more specialised, high-quality training to be delivered.

To donate, click here. For Shani’s story please visit www.shineforshani.org.