July’s Fundraising Heroes laced up their walking boots or donned their lycra to support Cure Parkinson’s.
A Blencathra Bat Mitzva challenge
For Maya’s Bat Mitzvah challenge, she decided to climb Blencathra to raise funds in support of our research. The iconic Cumbrian fell, which stands at 2,848ft and is the 14th highest peak in the Lake District, also happened to be Maya’s second ever mountain climb following an ‘initiation’ walk up St Sunday Crag (2,759ft) a few days earlier.
Maya chose to fundraise for Cure Parkinson’s as her late grandfather, Martin, lived with the condition, and she raised an amazing £2,285 in support of our research. Thank you, Maya!
Maya climbing Blencathra with her dad:
The ‘End to End to End Parkinson’s’
Ben, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s five years ago, decided to mark his retirement by fundraising for Cure Parkinson’s with an iconic cycling challenge from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Ben dubbed the challenge the ‘End to End to End Parkinson’s’ and was joined by fellow cyclist Rune, who also lives with the condition.
Rune (who is from Norway) first met Ben through an online Parkinson’s cycling club, and flew to the UK to take part in the challenge. The duo tackled the famous route over two weeks, cycling over 1,000 miles from Cornwall to Caithness, and raised a phenomenal £14,335 along the way!
Ben and Rune at John O’Groats:
The Jurassic coast challenge
Aaron, Matt, Darren, Jody and Chris are five friends all approaching 50 who, along with Jody’s son Kian, challenged themselves to walk 100km along the Jurassic coast in under 24 hours, all to raise vital funds in support of our research.
Although the team had to slightly extend their 24 hour deadline due to various injuries occurring en route, their determination brought them to the finish line and in their valiant effort they raised over £3,000. Thank you!
The team during the 24 hour walk:
Pedaling from Peckham to Penzance
A group of around 23 friends got together to cycle over 500km from Peckham, London to Penzance in Cornwall, raising over £32,000 for us!
Prior to setting off, most of the team were novice cyclists and, after a couple of training sessions, became aware of just how daunting their challenge was going to be – especially once the route hit Dartmoor National Park! But they set their nerves aside and powered through, completing the challenge in four days.
Cycling from Peckham to Penzance:
Nominate a fundraising hero for our annual award
Each year, we celebrate an exceptional fundraiser who has gone above and beyond to raise funds and awareness for us with our annual Fundraiser of the Year award, and nominations for 2024’s Fundraiser of the Year are now open! The winner will be announced on World Parkinson’s Day next year (11 April 2025).
