On Saturday 15 August, Sarah Hopes from Staffordshire completed her hike to the summit of Snowdon to raise funds for Lancashire-based children’s charity Adoption Matters.
Sarah, who was accompanied by her family and a group of friends and supporters, completed her challenge in just over 8 hours, raising a phenomenal £2,145 for Adoption Matters.
Adoption Matters, who are a children’s charity and one of the largest Voluntary Adoption Agencies in the UK, specialise in recruiting, training and supporting individuals and families as adopters, offering them ongoing assistance and support for as long as they need it.
Sarah adopted three children after losing a son
Sarah’s recent climb is just one of many fundraising efforts she has completed in memory of her late son, Ethan, who passed away just hours after his birth in 2016, having been diagnosed with a foetal developmental abnormality.
Sarah explained her connection with Adoption Matters:
After Ethan left us, we went on to grow our family through adoption. We found out about Adoption Matters through a friend and made our first tentative steps along the road towards adopting our future children.
Thanks to our Adoption Matters social worker, we gained education, guidance, support and an encouraging hand to hold throughout the whole process. The agency’s service to our family has been, and continues to be, exemplary and with the support of Adoption Matters we have gone on to add 3 more beautiful little people to our family.
To us, our love and loss of precious Ethan was a signpost to start our journey of adoption and so it now seems fitting to fundraise for Adoption Matters in his memory, as a tribute to him and in support of the charity that has done so much for our whole family.
Sarah is no stranger to fundraising for her chosen charities
Adoption Matters is not the only charity that Sarah has supported, as between Ethan’s birth in 2016 and the summer of 2023 – when the Hospice charity ceased to exist – she helped to raise over £8,750 for the Donna Louise Children’s Hospice, where Sarah and her family spent time after Ethan passed.
In addition to her trek up Snowdon, Sarah and her family continue to support Adoption Matters through a range of fundraising events as well as gifts in Ethan’s memory, including the £487 donated in lieu of gifts for Ethan’s Grandma’s 70th birthday in November 2025.
Sarah, her family and friends have now raised over £4,000 for Adoption Matters in total.
Truly inspiring
Adoption Matters Chief Executive Susy White commented:
Sarah is truly inspiring, and we are deeply touched that she has chosen to support our charity in honour of Ethan. We hope that Ethan’s Hope can continue to keep Ethan’s memory alive by bringing families together, creating special moments, and providing support when it is needed most.
Through Sarah’s incredible efforts, Ethan’s legacy will continue to make a meaningful difference to the lives of others, ensuring that his spirit of hope and love lives on for years to come.
If you would like to support Sarah and donate to Adoption Matters, you can do so by visiting Sarah’s fundraising page at: https://www.justgiving.com/page/sarah-hopes-3
After a Press Release by AdoptionMatters who provided the pictures.
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