She originally set a target of raising £100 to help her friend who developed a rare complication following a stem cell transplant.
But after conquering England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike, 10-year-old Ruby May Jennings from Taverham, has raised over £600.
The Drayton Junior School pupil completed the 978 metre challenge with her parents in hot conditions.
She was due to climb the Lake District peak in March but that was cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown.
All the money she has raised will help long-term school friend Imogen Roe, 10, from Thorpe Marriott, known as Immy, who was diagnosed with leukaemia last summer.
The youngster relapsed after being successfully treated for leukaemia in 2016 with chemotherapy.
Following a stem cell transplant, from a US donor, in November 2019 at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, the youngster developed a rare complication affecting her kidney function which is treated by medication.
Immy’s mother, Anna Dagless, said: “To have a friend climb a mountain for you is amazing. It was really hard going for them. We cannot believe how much Ruby has raised.”
The youngster, who is in remission from leukaemia and has a twin sister and older brother, returned home just as lockdown was announced and the family have had to shield.
MORE: Imogen, 9, faces Christmas in isolation as she fights leukaemiaRuby, who first made friends with Immy in reception class at Drayton junior, said: “The climb was tiring but quite fun. I liked it when I did the rock climbing.
“I felt relieved when we got to the top. I feel proud and amazed because everyone said that was the hardest of the UK’s three main mountains.”
The 10-year-old budding explorer, who climbed Snowdon in Wales aged seven for Cancer Research UK, put painted rocks with the words #GoClimbForImmy on the summit of Scafell Pike and completed the climb and descent in seven hours and 48 minutes.
Her mother Becki Jennings said: “Ruby was up there like a mountain goat. There is no fear. I’m proud of her. She is so determined. On the climb she was so focused. She kept in her head the reason why she was doing it.”
Ruby wants to tackle the UK’s third major mountain - Ben Nevis in Scotland - next for charity.
To donate visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/goclimbforimmy
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here