Two Bat Mitzvah girls both called Evie stayed awake all night to raise over £2,400 for a Camp Simcha respite project named in memory of another Evie.

Evie Mindel and Evie Gee from North London, chose Camp Simcha’s Evie’s Night Owls project, which funds the charity’s overnight respite service for some of its families, with seriously ill children needing round the clock care.

The project was established by Sam and Lee Bladon and named for their daughter Evie, who was supported by Camp Simcha after she was deprived of oxygen during birth. Evie lived until the age of three and needed 24/7 care. Her parents felt that the occasional night-time respite support they received from Camp Simcha was a crucial element of how they coped.

After Evie died they wanted to fundraise in her memory to ensure this could be available for all parents who needed it.

Evie Mindel who is a pupil at JCoSS,  explained: “It seemed special to us to raise money for a charity that was named after another Evie. We wanted the charity to have a Jewish connection and we knew this would help families with sick children.

“As the project is called Evie’s Night Owls and we are definitely not night owls, we thought it would be a good match if we challenged ourselves to be night owls for one night.”

Both girls have been friends since nursery and studied for their bat mitzvahs together at Finchley Reform Synagogue so they were keen to do a joint challenge.

Evie Gee, who goes to JFS, said: “Towards the end, we were both extremely tired but we managed to make it. We made slime and did some challenges to keep us awake for the whole night. We went to buy late night snacks, we did a Tortilla challenge (where you slap each other in the face with a tortilla), and ate lots of sweets and chocolates. You can tell our parents went to sleep!

“We really hope that the money we have raised makes a difference to the families Camp Simcha supports, and also to Evie’s family who set up the charity.”

Evie Mindel added: “We also were really happy with all the support from Evie’s Night Owls and Camp Simcha who gave us a goody bag, sent us lovely messages and gave us each a special certificate with a message from the boss!”