By Leicester Mercury | Posted 20 March, 2013
Five school workers will be donning mortar boards and gowns for a fancy dress sponsored walk in memory of a teacher who died.
The staff from Rothley Primary School are taking part in LOROS's Twilight Walk for a second year as a tribute to Sarah Stonehouse, who died at the hospice in December 2011, aged 39.
The walk, for women only, has a back to school theme.
Rothley Primary head teacher Fiona Parr said: "Sadly, we lost Sarah at LOROS in December 2011 so when we heard about the Twilight Walk, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to come together and do something to raise money and to remember her.
School bursar Jackie Warner, who is also taking part, said: "Since Sarah died, the school has been fund-raising for LOROS in numerous ways.
"The children have done a lot and one of the PE instructors did the marathon.
"We did the walk last year and really enjoyed it. It was a good way of remembering Sarah and helping LOROS, so we've decided to do it again.
"We're looking forward to it. We'll be teachers with mortar boards and capes.
"We all knew about LOROS before and it's a charity we've raised money for in the past, but it's far more personal to us now."
Paying tribute to Sarah, Jackie said: "She had been at the school for more than 16 years and she was only 39 when she died. It was a big shock – she was a big part of the school."
About 1,600 women are expected to take part in the Twilight Walk on Saturday, March 23.
The event is now one of the hospice's biggest annual fund-raisers, generating more than £50,000 last year.
This year, organisers have had to stagger start times in order to allow more people to take part.
Organiser Christian Weikert–Picker said: "It's incredible to see how women come together on this very special night.
"They really see it as a chance to come out and let their hair down, whilst at the same time doing something completely worthwhile for charity."
Men who would like to help out can volunteer on the night.
For more about the event, see: www.thetwilightwalk.co.uk
