Charity 'overwhelmed' after £115k donation

Joel Redhead (left) climbed Snowdon at the end of his 140 mile walk

A charity said its future had been secured after a fundraising walk raised £115,000.

Chasing Rainbows supports families experiencing baby loss, infertility and miscarriage and relies totally on public donations.

The money was raised by Joel Redhead who walked 140 miles (225km) with his friend Shane from Coventry to Wales before climbing Snowdon.

He completed the walk in memory of his nephew Jude, who died shortly after he was born in November 2024.

Mr Redhead said he was motivated after his sister told him about the support she received from the charity after the loss of her son.

"I feel like it is probably the most traumatic thing you could ever go through as a family," he said.

"So the fact that Chasing Rainbows are going to have that massive pot of money to support people for years to come is just a massive relief."

The charity was founded in 2019 by Sam Catanach after she experienced five miscarriages.

It has helped more than 500 families across Hull and East Yorkshire.

Ms Catanach said the "unbelievable" amount of money would enable the charity "to do more".

"It's really overwhelming for a small charity like us to have so much money raised. It's huge," she said.

"It makes us so solid and sustainable in terms of moving our future plans forward, growing the service and being able to reach more women and families."

Sam Catanach set up Chasing Rainbows in 2019 after having five miscarriages

Mr Redhead, who initially planned to raise £5,000, said the walk was also a chance to raise awareness of the issue.

"Baby loss in any form is such a taboo subject, where people feel awkward speaking about it," he said.

"I hope that, after we've spread that message online with everybody's help, that people won't feel so awkward about speaking about that."

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