Little Ada Butterfield knows more about fundraising than most toddlers. Since she was born four years ago with the rare liver disease, biliary atresia, her parents, Emma and Michael who live in Allerton Bywater have been fundraising tirelessly for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF) and have raised an amazing £24,000. Now Ada has decided she wants to do her own event and will be taking part in the 1.5K Leeds mini run this Saturday (July 6).

“CLDF have been there for us with information and emotional support ever since Ada was diagnosed,” explains Emma. “Thanks to early surgery she is doing well at the moment, but the chances are her liver will deteriorate in the future and she will need a transplant. CLDF help us all by arranging events where we can meet other families in our situation and funding research so that one day there might be a cure for children like Ada. In the meantime, we know that they will be there for her as she gets older and has to learn to manage her liver condition for herself.
“We decided to enter Ada for the Leeds mini run because she absolutely loves running, She’s been down to London the last two years for the marathon – last year to watch me, then this year to watch daddy and she’s obsessed. She runs everywhere and says she’s training for the marathon! So we thought it would be good to enter her into a little event and raise money in the process.
“I love the fact she loves running and exercising and hope she continues, so if the time comes where she needs that new liver, she will be in a stronger position for recovery.”
Alison Taylor, Chief Executive of Children’s Liver Disease Foundation commented: “CLDF is the only UK charity dedicated to fighting all childhood liver diseases, by providing information and emotional support, funds for research and a voice for all those affected. In order to do this however, we rely on voluntary donations so we are delighted to hear about Ada’s running debut. Emma and Michael are the most fantastic fundraisers and we just love the fact that Ada is literally following in their footsteps! We hope she has a great day.
You can sponsor Ada in the Leeds Mini Run by going to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/emma-butterfield5
For more information on CLDF visit childliverdisease.org.