A SCHOOL used elbow grease as it held a charity car wash to raise money for a former student’s cancer battle.
St Benedict’s Catholic College in Colchester held the event in aid of Monique Buckingham.
Monique, 26, from Colchester, was just 21 when she was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer in 2017.
The goal is now to raise £200,000 to fund treatment which could prolong her life.
As a former student at St Benedict’s, the school has been holding a plethora of events to raise money for the treatment.
The school has already raised money through various events such as a non-uniform day in line with World Book Day and a guess the name of the stuffed toy game.
The latest fundraiser was a charity car wash, which saw the students hard at work, cleaning the teachers’s cars for cash.
In total, £115 was raised with 23 cars washed in the hour.
Senior tutor at the school Tom Rafter was extremely happy with how the day went and with the success of the car wash.
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He said: “We are pleased to see the community spirit of our students.
“These are all student-led initiatives, and with the car wash, they did it with great maturity, planning and organisation.
“They stuck to time and task and had 23 cars washed by 12.40pm in the last lesson before lunch.
“Overall, it was a nice and fun experience, good interaction between staff and students.”
Following on, St Benedict’s School is also going to continue fundraising and students have already planned a sponsored walk.
Mr Rafter is also going to be running a half marathon.
He added: “The car was just the next phase of our continuous efforts to help Monique, and there are lots of other events in the near future.
“It was a good day of fun and of making money for a worthy cause that is very dear to us at St Benedict’s.”
Headteacher Jo Santinelli said: “It was a great effort from our superb senior prefect team - working together to help or former student, Monique.”
To donate to the gofundme page, visit gofundme.com/f/thelifeofmique.
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