Dorchester girl with down syndrome sets own swim challenge

Lillie Gool, 11, from Dorchester loves being in the water so decided to combine that with a charity effort to raise money for Shine 21, a Dorset organisation dedicated to helping children with Down's syndrome, by swimming 2,100 metres throughout March.

Currently halfway through her challenge her mum Tara says she is extremely proud of Lillie so far and says her daughter has enjoyed every moment.

She said: “Lillie loves swimming and is a bit of a mermaid, we are about halfway through at the moment; it is great.

“Last year Lillie walked 21 miles with some of the others raising around £5,000 and this year we wanted to do something different, so this is where it came from.

“She does lessons at swim 1610 in the Dorchester Sports Centre every Thursday and is really thriving.

“I have then been taking her Monday and Wednesdays, as well to clock up the hours.”

Ms Gool runs Shine 21 and says the charity has found it tough to bring in donations over the past few years.

She continued: “Last year during lockdown because we could not do much we decided if parents and their children would do any fundraisers to help out.

“So Lillie did the walk and that’s where the idea came from for the swimming.

“All the money is going to Shine 21, we are a community group of parents supporting children with Down's syndrome.”

Lillie hopes to raise £500 for the charity and so far has raised more than half of that.

“So far we have got about £300 with online donations and some given in cash,” said Ms Gool.

“At Shine 21 we aim to work directly with parents and children helping to enrich their lives, and we are so grateful for any donation.

“We also aim to give our children equal opportunities as it is really important to give them chances to do things they might not normally do.”

To donate to Lillie’s fundraiser visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lilliesswim21challenge