Siblings from Malvern are taking on a month-long running challenge to raise funds for the hospice which is caring for their grandmother.
Jacob and Claudia Walker have challenged themselves to run 300km in March to raise funds for St Richard’s Hospice.
The duo decided to take on the challenge after seeing now much grandmother, Pat Jones, was benefitting from the care and support provided by the Worcestershire-based charity.
Jake, 19, explained: “Since being diagnosed with a tumour in her lung, Nan has had so much help and support from the hospice. Even though she can’t attend sessions in person because of the pandemic, there’s always someone there on the end of the phone or on a group zoom session.
“We wanted to give something back to the hospice and, having done a bit of running over the last year or so, thought we could set ourselves a challenge to run every day in March. And it has proved a challenge so far, we can definitely feel it in our joints!”
Claud, 17, added: “We hope that by raising funds for the hospice they are able to care for other families the way they are helping ours. We’ve raised more than £375 so far but with another week of running – and more achy legs to come – we hope we can add to our fundraising pot.”
The siblings, who are studying for an apprenticeship and for A’ levels respectively, are fitting their daily runs in around their studies.
“It’s actually quite difficult to fit running every day in but we’ve been working as a team and splitting the distance between us. Sometimes Jake will run further so I can run a bit less that day,” said Miss Walker, who is hoping to go to university next year.
To support the siblings’ fundraising, visit their JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jakeandclaudsmarchrun.
Jayne Sargeant, a Fundraiser at St Richard’s, said: “We’re so grateful to Jake and Claud for raising funds for our care while their nan is being supported by our team.
“300km is a huge distance to run over a month and we wish them the very best for the remainder of March, particularly for the hillier bits of Malvern!
“It’s only thanks to incredible people like Jake and Claud that we can continue to provide our care free-of-charge to patients and their loved ones across Worcestershire. They are true hospice heroes!”
St Richard’s Hospice cares for adults with a serious progressive illness, improving their quality of life from diagnosis, during treatment and to their last days. It also supports their loved ones.
Each year the hospice team supports more than 3,300 patients, family members and bereaved people in Worcestershire.
St Richard’s is an independent charity and relies on donations and gifts in Wills for the majority of its income with the remainder funded by the NHS.
For more information about St Richard’s Hospice visit www.strichards.org.uk.
