St Richard’s Hospice Staff Nurses Alice Wall (left) and Becky Harding (right) with Ethan Waller
A star rugby player is set to swap his sports kit for 80s fancy dress when he takes on a hospice fun run this summer.
Ethan Waller, who plays for Worcester Warriors, will join hundreds of runners for the St Richard’s Hospice 80s Messy Madness run on Saturday, August 4.
Tackling rainbow paint, bubbles and gunge – the 25-year-old loosehead prop is raising money for the Worcester hospice by taking on the challenge.
“Upon arriving in Worcester last year, I was contacted by a member of the St Richard’s team to possibly help in an event,” explained Mr Waller, who joined Warriors last summer. “Unfortunately I couldn’t make it, but I promised to come down and meet everyone.
“Once I arrived, I was absolutely blown away by the facilities and staff at St Richard’s – but I was equally blown away by how much it costs to maintain. That is when I knew I wanted to do anything I could to help aid fundraising.
“St Richard’s is one of the most incredible hospices I have ever seen – and the work they do is nothing short of amazing! I’m proud to be associated with them in any capacity.”
The hospice’s Messy Madness event will take place at Churchfields Farm in Salwarpe, near Droitwich, and is a 5k fun run – or walk. Everyone taking part will be presented with a medal and ice cream after crossing the finish line.
Kelly Johns, Fundraiser at St Richard’s, said: “It’s fantastic to have Ethan join in the messy madness fun – we can’t wait to see all our runners tackling the foam, paint and gunge on the day!
“There’s still time to join in – so grab your neon paint, legwarmers and best fancy dress and let us take you back to the 80s as we recreate the spirit of the decade in which the hospice was founded.
“We would like to thank our fantastic sponsors Majestic Bingo Worcester – and everyone who has signed-up so far, raising money to support our free hospice care.”
To make a donation to Mr Waller’s JustGiving page visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ethanwaller.
To book your place for 80s Messy Madness visit www.strichards.org.uk/event/80smessymadness/.
St Richard’s Hospice provides free specialist palliative and end of life care for patients living with life-limiting illnesses and supports their loved ones. Each year the hospice team supports more than 3,300 patients, family members and bereaved people in Worcestershire.
The hospice strives to provide the best medical, practical, emotional and social support they can to help people live life to the fullest, as independently as they can, for as long as they can. They care for people with a range of illnesses including heart failure, Parkinson’s, and motor neurone disease as well as cancer.
St Richard’s is an independent charity and relies on donations for three quarters of its annual £8.8m income with the remainder from the NHS.
St Richard’s has launched the Build 2020 Appeal which aims to raise the final £1.4m needed to build a bigger hospice, enabling more patients and families to be cared for in Worcestershire.
The total cost for expanding and redeveloping the existing building in Wildwood Drive, Worcester, is £5.3m.
For more information about St Richard’s Hospice visit: www.strichards.org.uk.
