DRWF Fundraising: Six-year-old raises more than £1,800 for diabetes research after sharing her type 1 diabetes story
Sophia Green was our highest fundraiser from the recent Dance for Diabetes school’s event, raising £1,804.76 for DRWF.
Six-year-old Sophia Green has raised an incredible £1,804.76 for DRWF after taking part in the charity’s Dance for Diabetes fundraiser at her school, Morton Primary Academy in Alfreton.
Sophia, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes aged five, was inspired to take part after hearing about Dance for Diabetes through her school. The event has not only raised a remarkable amount for diabetes research and education but has also helped Sophia become more comfortable talking about her diagnosis and living with type 1 diabetes.
Sophia was named DRWF’s highest fundraiser across the UK this year, surpassing the previous highest total raised in 2025.
Tim Green, Head of Community Fundraising at DRWF, said: “Sophia was our highest fundraiser across the UK this year, raising £1,804.76. She even beat the previous highest total raised in 2025. This is an exceptional effort and something that I am sure her parents will be very proud of.”
As recognition of her achievement, Sophia was presented with an Amazon Fire HD 8 Kids Pro tablet, a £100 Smyths Toys voucher, and the charity’s Highest Fundraising Award.
Dance for Diabetes
This year’s Dance for Diabetes event included 86 schools nationwide, with more than 20,000 school children taking part.
Thousands of children and families learned about all forms of diabetes, including the vital signs and symptoms in children and adults as part of this year’s Dance for Diabetes event.
For the fifth consecutive year, DRWF continued our partnership with FunKidz Dance to bring Dance for Diabetes into primary schools across the UK.
Dance for Diabetes combines movement, education and fundraising to create real, lasting impact.
The recent event expanded on previous years, where mainly schools in the Portsmouth and Hampshire area took part, to include 86 primary schools from around the country.
In all, more than 20,000 pupils joined in the fundraising event – helping to raise a whopping £77,919.36. A figure that had the DRWF fundraising team dancing in the street with joy.
The final figure is even more remarkable as it eclipses the total sum raised in the previous four years of the event put together – that saw more than £75,000 shared between participating schools and DRWF.
The campaign does not only boost financial support for DRWF activities. Participating schools also benefit directly, retaining 40% of the funds raised by their own school as a cash boost to support their pupils and school community.
Thanks to our unique pledge to donate 40p of every £1 raised back to the schools, more than £30,000 will now be returned directly to participating schools for them to reinvest in their pupils and school communities.
For more information on fundraising for DRWF please click here. We will shortly be announcing details how schools can get involved in the 2027 Dance for Diabetes event – so watch this space!
Sophia’s diagnosis
Sophia’s type 1 diabetes was diagnosed following a family holiday in Barbados. During the holiday, her parents, Simon and his wife Chantelle, noticed that Sophia was not eating much but was drinking a lot.
Initially, they did not think too much of it, as Sophia generally ate less when the weather was hot. However, after returning home, Sophia continued to drink excessively. Her parents decided to arrange an appointment at their local doctor’s surgery, where they saw an Advanced Clinical Practitioner.
Simon said: “She wasn’t a fully qualified GP but was the person who recognised what was happening with Sophia and diagnosed her with type 1 diabetes. It makes that part of Sophia’s story even more remarkable.
“She checked for ketones and did a finger prick test. Both were really high and she sent us straight to the hospital. It all took less than 15 minutes.”
The family chose to take Sophia to Chesterfield Royal Hospital, where she received care from the paediatric diabetes team.
Simon said the family have nothing but praise for the team who cared for Sophia and helped them through the early stages of her diagnosis.
Simon said: “We learned that Sophia was really lucky to have avoided diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which is such a serious condition that can happen in people with diabetes. We have a great relationship with her diabetes team and feel very lucky to have them taking care of her.”
DKA happens when a lack of insulin causes ketones, harmful substances produced when the body breaks down fat, to build up in the blood. It can be life-threatening and requires urgent hospital treatment.
Dance for Diabetes gives Sophia a voice
Before taking part in Dance for Diabetes, Sophia had not spoken to many people about her type 1 diabetes. Hearing about the event through her school gave her an opportunity not only to raise money but also to talk about her experience.
Sophia’s class teacher Miss Carter was the instigator for the school to take part in Dance for Diabetes and Sophia’s family are very grateful for this opportunity to support Sophia’s type 1 journey.
For Sophia, however, the impact has gone far beyond fundraising.
Simon explained that taking part has helped Sophia come to terms with her diagnosis and make diabetes part of her everyday life.
Her best friend Lola even told her mum that they were “raising funds to keep Sophia alive”.
Simon said: “Asking for sponsorship allowed Sophia to talk to people and make her diabetes part of her everyday life.”
Sophia now wears a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and an insulin pump, both of which have made a significant difference to managing her diabetes.
Her grandmother Valerie Rohdes and auntie Shaneice Grimsley also play an important role alongside mum and dad, with the whole family learning about type 1 diabetes together.
The family’s aim is to help Sophia become as independent as possible while ensuring she has the support she needs.
‘Sophia’s Brave Adventure’
Sophia’s journey has also inspired her to become an author.
During her first 11 months of living with type 1 diabetes, Sophia wrote her own book, Sophia’s Brave Adventure – A Story About Type 1 Diabetes, Strength, and Always Being You.
The book tells Sophia’s story from the beginning of her diagnosis, through the difficult early months, as she learns how to live with type 1 diabetes, grows in confidence and ultimately finds herself in a much better place.
Sophia wrote the story with the help of her mum, dad and grandmother, who helped bring it to life through illustrations and printing.
Simon said: “It has become something really special to all of us because it is Sophia telling her own story, in her own way, and showing other children that being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes does not mean that you must stop being the person you were before.”
The family are now looking at how they can bring Sophia’s Brave Adventure to more families and help other children who are facing a type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
Sophia’s fundraising achievement is another chapter in that story – turning her own experience of type 1 diabetes into an opportunity to raise awareness, support diabetes research and show other children that a diagnosis does not have to define who they are.
For more information on fundraising for DRWF please click here. We will shortly be announcing details how schools can get involved in the 2027 Dance for Diabetes event – so watch this space!
Read more about type 1 diabetes
For more information about the 4Ts, read the DRWF Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes information leaflet here
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