Sophie’s Success Fundraising
Sophie Bourton, mother of Eva Wren, has been a strong advocate for the PFIC Community over the last 2 years. Recently she hosted a fundraiser to support PFIC Network and our partner organization in the UK, Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF) and was very successful in doing so. We wanted to share Sophie’s experience and the amazing work she and her community have done to advocate for PFIC patients and families. Written below is what Sophie wrote on her fundraiser experience.
Sophie’s Reflection
Our daughter Eva Wren was diagnosed with PFIC 3 back in 2021, since then we have been on a mission to raise awareness and raise vital funds for both the national charity PFIC foundation and the UK based Children’s Liver Disease Foundation. We are passionate about raising funds for these charities as they support research into treatments for PFIC, which currently lacks non-invasive treatment options, and they advocate and support families affected by the disease.
Sophie, Eva’s Mum’s background is working for charities that advocate for wildlife. Seeing the collective impact of lots of people doing small (or large!) amounts of fundraising and advocacy, has inspired Sophie to campaign for PFIC. Eva is also lucky to have a wonderful Godmother, who organised a brilliant fundraising event this June (as well as fundraising $2,725 for the PFIC Network last year). Titled ‘Eva’s fundraiser’, the joy filled day consisted of an impressive raffle, Eva’s Dad shaving his head (badly!), puppies, lots of facepainting and bubble machines for the little ones. We were lucky to be supported by materials from the PFIC foundation which helped to spread awareness about the disease. The event raised just under £3,500. We charged £10 for entry on the day, set up a Just Giving Page so that people who couldn’t attend could donate, and raised money through selling raffle tickets. It really was a lovely day and a chance to spend time with friends and family whilst making a real difference. We thank our lucky stars for the support of our friends and family everyday, especially Aunty Gabby!
