Brecon seven-year-old raises £1,050 for charity after IronKids challenge

A seven-year-old Brecon girl has raised more than £1,000 for a children’s hospital charity after taking on an IronKids challenge in Tenby.

Millie Julian ran 1,000 metres at the recent IronKids event, raising £1,050 for Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity. The challenge was particularly close to home for Millie, whose younger brother Freddie spent months at the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales following a life-threatening illness.

During the summer of 2024, Freddie suffered a series of infections which caused him to go into heart failure. He was placed on the highest level of life support and became the first patient in the UK to be treated using a new form of ECMO circuit at Bristol Children’s Hospital, which helped to save his life.

After suffering a brain injury, Freddie later spent months undergoing neuro rehabilitation and post-life support recovery at the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales in Cardiff. Millie spent long days alongside her little brother during his treatment and saw first-hand the support provided by the Noah’s Ark charity.

Freddie and Millie’s mum, Vickie, said Millie was determined to give something back.

“When the Noah’s Ark Charity offered Millie a place at IronKids, she couldn’t hold herself back,” she said. “She saw it as an opportunity to give something back to the charity that had helped her and Freddie.

“From superhero visits and glitter face painting to activities and plenty in between, Noah’s Ark helped make that terrible summer brighter for Millie and Freddie, making the long days in hospital more comfortable, exciting and childlike.”

The idea for Millie’s own fundraising challenge was also inspired by Freddie, who earlier this year ran the final stretch of the Noah’s Ark Superhero 5K in Cardiff after previously taking part in his pushchair.

Vickie said she could not be prouder of what her daughter has achieved.

“It’s unbelievable that in her first solo charity fundraiser, Millie has raised this amount of money, all from the generous and kind donations of family, friends and strangers who see Millie as inspiring as we do,” she said.

“We couldn’t be prouder of what Millie has achieved, and her strength, determination and kind little heart has made us so proud.

“Millie wanted to set herself this challenge to be able to help children in hospital, just like her and Freddie, and she has exceeded everything she set out to achieve, at the tender age of only seven.”

Each year, around 73,000 children receive specialist and often life-saving care at the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales. The charity funds medical equipment and facilities to improve treatment, while also supporting children and families through emotional support services and its play specialist team. It helps create family-friendly hospital environments and provides technology to support the training of future clinicians.

Noah’s Ark relies solely on public donations and gifts in Wills.

More information about Noah’s Ark and the work the charity does can be found at: noahsarkcharity.org