Goals, cakes and rainbows

Jewish Chronicle

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The third Shine for Shani Football Marathon took place on Sunday at Watford Powerleague with hundreds of players turning up to score goals in a full day of football games.

 

Players aged 8 to 80  took to the pitches at Watford Powerleague, showing amazing team spirit, creating memorable moments and celebrating sporting triumphs! From the sidelines their friends and family cheered on the players and also enjoyed delicious treats from the all day Bake Sale.

 

The highlight of the day was a faint but beautiful rainbow across the sky above the pitches - a perfect reminder to all of the inspiration behind the event, Shani Berman.

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Shine for Shani was set up by Shani's family after she died in 2017 following complicated open heart surgery. The charity fundraises in her memory, raising over £400,000 so far for cardiac research and equipment at Great Ormond Street Hospital and also the Schneider Children Hospital in Tel Aviv.

 

They recently completed funding on a new SmartAblate machine used to treat a range of childhood heart conditions, with the potential to dramatically improve the quality and/or length of patients' stay at GOSH. The money donated at the Football Marathon will go towards the purchase of a Cardiothoracic Educational Mannequin for Cardiac Intensive Care to allow even more specialised, high-quality training to be delivered.

 

Shani's Dad and Shine for Shani Trustee, Simon Berman said "It was great seeing hundreds of people playing football together, dads and kids, women and girls and particularly inspiring was the walking football match for adults with Parkinsons. In all we are proud to have raised over £20,000 for children in GOSH and the Schneider Institute. In the whole amazing day, the moment that was most inspirational for me was when a rainbow appeared in the sky above the pitches - so poignant as the day Shani died a rainbow appeared across the sky above GOSH as well as above her friends' house on Rehov Shani in Modi'in."
 

For more information or photos please contact shineforshani@gmail.com.