Inspirational Southsea woman wins 'Fundraiser of the Year' at the Sense Awards

Elle Jones, 27, from Southsea, has been awarded the ‘Fundraiser of the Year’ at the Sense Awards after she completed the London Marathon with Usher Syndrome, a genetic condition which causes deafblindness. Four judges picked her out as the winner from over 100 nominations from across the country.

On receiving the award, Elle said: “I’m so happy and grateful to have won this award. It’s a testament to my journey of accepting my diagnosis and a reminder to keep pushing through any challenge that comes my way.”

Elle was born with severe hearing loss and in 2022 she learnt that she was also losing her sight. The news came as a shock and had a big impact on her mental health. It led to her avoiding socialising as she tackled an uncertain future in both her work and sporting life.

She was not sure if she could continue to work in her job as a respiratory physiologist for the NHS due to inaccessible technology, while also realising her future representing Great Britain in tchoukball would be coming to an end.

However, with the support of her family and her wife, Ellise, Elle started to focus on the things she could do and set herself the challenge of running the London Marathon. It was a chance to prove to herself that she could still achieve big things in her life.

She completed the marathon in 4 hour and 47 minutes, raising £3,000 for Sense in the process, a charity which supports people with complex disabilities. As well as completing the marathon, Elle also educates young people on deafblindess on TikTok under the handle pieceofelle.

Caroline Buckland, head of community fundraising at Sense, said: “Elle is a phenomenal supporter of Sense, who has not only raised a huge amount of money for us but has also done a lot to advocate for Sense and for young disabled people.

“We’re so grateful she chose to run the London Marathon for us, and we’re thrilled to recognise her achievements at the Sense Awards.”

Further information on the Sense Awards can be found by visiting: https://www.sense.org.uk/sense-awards/

Watch the video embedded in this article to see Elle break the news of her win to her mum.