A DROITWICH man has raised more than £20,000 after embarking on an 80/80 Challenge ‘Heartfelt Walk’ for Little Hearts Matter (LHM).
Dedicated fundraiser Colin Barrett began his remarkable task of walking 80km before his 80th birthday, inspired by the efforts of Captain Sir Tom Moore who raised £33million for the NHS by completing 100 laps of his garden in the lead up to his 100th birthday.
Colin averaged 4.25km per day for the 19 days leading up to his milestone day.
Colin set an initial fundraising target of £5,000, which was quickly doubled to £10,000 due to overwhelming support, and now stands at over £20,000.
Friends and family step up after injury strikes
A knee injury whilst training ruled Colin out the possibility of walking that distance every day and then Colin’s friends and family rallied around him to ensure the walk would still be completed through a relay throughout November and December with different people walking one mile-a-day.
Colin is walking himself every three days and will, of course, do the final day.
Contributions have poured in from bucket collections at superstores, garden centres, a dedicated team of 40 individuals who contribute through online shopping, and dozens of online donors.
Grandson’s support
Colin’s fund-raising for LHM began in 2004 after his grandson Thomas was born with ‘Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome’ (HLHS) – half a working heart.
Despite the challenges, Thomas’s journey has been one of resilience and triumph, thanks in part to the exceptional support provided by LHM.
Now, at 19 years old, Thomas continues to thrive and is in his second year of university.
Thomas’ father, Spencer, said: “Through the whole of his life and the months prior to his birth after that first scan, our family has received outstanding support from the staff at Little Hearts Matter.
“We feel we owe it to the team and Trustees at LHM to do regular fundraising as our way of saying thank you for their compassion and support.”
Colin and his family are committed to raising awareness of Little Hearts Matter alongside fundraising to ensure the charity can continue to provide the same support to others.
Reflecting on the journey, Colin said: “Regardless of how much is eventually raised, the overwhelming motivation is to help raise funds to enable the board and staff to continue to provide magnificent support to all LHM families.”
Visit justgiving.com/fundraising/colin-barrett to donate via Colin’s fundraising page.
