A road safety campaigner has thrown her weight behind a fundraising event held by law firm Sintons in aid of the charity which supported her family in the aftermath of her seven-year-old daughter’s death in a road crash.
Becky Frankel has hailed the “fantastic” efforts of Sintons in raising over £750 for road safety charity Brake, through holding a spinathon – where four members of the law firm’s serious injury team cycled 121 miles each – alongside a bake sale and other fundraising activities.
The money will go towards Brake’s lifesaving work in raising awareness of road safety, and helping crash victims and their families.
Becky lost both her daughter Tiggy and her father-in-law Richard in a tragic accident on the A1 at Kingston Park in 2008, and has campaigned tirelessly since that time to promote road safety and to raise money for Brake. Her efforts were acknowledge with an MBE in 2016.
Jami Blythe, client support executive at Sintons, met Becky through their shared work with Brake – Jami was previously part of Northumbria Police’s Operation Dragoon motor patrols team, and worked closely with the charity on a number of initiatives including the launch of the pioneering young driver project, Road Sense Common Sense.
Her commitment to road safety was recognised through Jami being named as Brake’s Road Safety Educator of the Year in 2015.
Jami and colleagues in Sintons’ serious injury team – Phil Davison, John Davis and Kate Nicklin – all completed the spinathon to raise vital funds for the charity, with which Sintons is working closely.
Becky, whose most recent major fundraiser for Brake saw her swim up and back down Lake Windermere in one day – an equivalent distance to the English Channel – said: “Brake gives a huge amount of support to families in the most difficult of circumstances imaginable – it was a lifeline for us. The charity supports the work of police family liaison officers and provides easy-to-understand literature to help explain things like death and serious injuries to young children, as well as giving a practical guide to bereaved families covering things like funeral arrangements, what an inquest involves, things you would have no clue how to deal with in such a terrible and traumatic situation.
“They also have a brilliant helpline, which is a huge help – sometimes you can talk more easily to people outside of your family, who understand and can offer signposting and support.
“I think it is fantastic that Sintons are raising money for Brake and I’m delighted to lend my support – my daughter and I even baked some of the cakes, Brake is such a brilliant charity I will always do whatever I can to help. Brake’s work relies on the generosity of people raising money and I know from my own experience what a huge impact that can have.”