Friends and colleagues raise £4,000 in memory of popular Pendle school administration assistant

Friends, relatives and colleagues of a popular school administration assistant, who died at the age of 33, have taken part in a charity run in her memory.
Friends and colleagues of Dani gather for a photocall before the start of the Manchester 10k which saw them raise 4,000 for charity in her memory.Friends and colleagues of Dani gather for a photocall before the start of the Manchester 10k which saw them raise 4,000 for charity in her memory.
Friends and colleagues of Dani gather for a photocall before the start of the Manchester 10k which saw them raise 4,000 for charity in her memory.

And their amazing efforts have raised the fantastic sum of £4,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Around 30 teachers and staff from Pendle Vale College in Nelson ran the Manchester 10k in memory of Dani Wallace who had worked at the school for over a decade and was a popular and valued member of the team.

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Dani died on Friday, May 3rd, just a few months after doctors diagnosed her with the devastating illness Motor Neurone Disease.

Dani's colleague and close friend Laura Laycock, who works as a Assistant Curriculum Leader for modern foreign languages at the school, came up with the idea to take part in the run and it blossomed from there with other members of staff keen to take part.

The original plan was for Dani to greet the runners at the finish line of the race but instead her husband Lee was there in her place along with her brothers, Paul and Carl, and other family and friends.

Dani and Lee were childhood sweethearts and tied the knot five years ago. Lee cared for Dani at their Barnoldswick home as she battled the devastating disease that attacks the brain and nerves.

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All the runners wore t- shirts emblazoned with the MND charity name and the slogan 'Doing It For Dani.'

A number of the team walked the route, including Dani's best friend, Rachel Sharman and her sister Megan and Dani's sister-in-law Jo Tillotson.

Rachel and Dani had been friends since they were 13 and the duo loved pursuing their hobby together of aerial hoop which allowed Dani's sense of fun and mischief to shine through.

A keen animal lover Dani had a pet corn snake called Dude and a cat called Twinkle.

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She grew up in Brierfield and attended the former Mansfield High School.Dani, whose trademark was her almost waist length wild auburn hair, was also a music lover and loved going to gigs.

Donations are still being accepted for the MND Association and anyone who would like to make one is asked to go to the link https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/laura-laycock1