Oakenhurst raises money for different charities throughout the year, but one charity that is very close to our hearts is the Mouth Cancer Foundation. So over the weekend, two of Oakenhurst’s employees, Martin & Jenni Sanderson, completed a 10K walk to raise awareness and money for the foundation, and Martin has kindly told us about why he and Jenni wanted to support the cause.
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We were first made aware of the event when we attended a Parkrun at Southend one Saturday morning in August when a brave lady who is a member of our running group (Flyers Southend) stood up and promoted the event, asking for support from anybody that could make it. That brave lady was called Karen and has since become a good friend of ours. She’s a mum that has two young children and has had to deal with having mouth cancer and the invasive surgery that goes with it, whilst keeping up a brave face at home and reassuring her children that Mummy is going to be just fine. She’s a truly remarkable girl and deals with having cancer in a most positive way that inspires all around her.
Secondly, an old school friend of mine (Mandy) that is another running buddy is dealing with this issue currently. Her husband David is undergoing radiotherapy for mouth cancer. Mandy and David are also members of a different Running Club that I am a member of (Fittology RC) and it was with David, Mandy and other members of Fittology RC that we completed the walk.
Thirdly, there was Kevin Rogers who used to work in the Auto Flight & Avionics Division at Oakenhurst. Kevin joined Oakenhurst from GE in March 2009 and was an expert engineer working on GE gyros. In the latter part of 2016 he was having problems with a tooth abscess and during the course of treatment from his dentist was eventually diagnosed with a cancer that had emanated from his jaw and moved on into other areas of his facial bone structure. It was an aggressive cancer and very sadly Kevin died in May 2017 at the age of 52. It seemed fitting to approach Oakenhurst for sponsorship and support in memory of Kevin.
We are extremely grateful to everyone at Oakenhurst that has sponsored us and supported the events that have raised money in Kevin’s memory. In total, we raised £300 for the Mouth Cancer Foundation and are very happy that we could help this wonderful charity.
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