Managing Director of Build to Rent specialist Wise Living has joined an intrepid team on its mission to walk the Thames Path in under 24 hours – opposed to the four days this walk is usually spread across. Paul Staley will join a team of six in completing the Walk of Hope to raise over £4,000 for the Douglas Macmillan Hospice (Dougie Mac), which provides hospice care to over 3,500 local people with life-limiting illnesses in and around Stoke, one of the most deprived areas of the country.
“When I was asked to take part in the Walk of Hope, I jumped at the chance. Dougie Mac is an invaluable resource for families in Staffordshire, providing them with critical support when they need it the most.
“The challenge is undoubtedly going to be tough – charity walks on Thames Path are usually spread over four days, so trying to complete it in less than 24 hours is incredibly ambitious, but we’ve got a great team and we will all pull each other through.
“We’re currently three quarters of the way to our fundraising target, and we’d love to get there and hopefully exceed it by the time we cross the finish line in Marlow.
“It’s an incredibly good cause, and we’d love to be able to put some smiles on faces with a huge donation at the end of the challenge.”
Paul Staley, Managing Director, Wise Living
Alongside Paul, the team taking part in the Walk of Hope trek are Nathan Walton from Tedaisy, Gary Mellor from Beswick’s Legal, Paul Franklin from HSBC, Gareth Higgins from KMF and Rob Hope from Sabit Engineering.
Starting from the Thames Barrier on Tuesday, 7 June, the group will attempt to walk the 110km route in under a day – which is around a quarter of the time it would usually take. The gruelling target means that the team will need to maintain a pace of over 5km per hour to reach the destination of Marlow by 4pm on Wednesday, 8 June.
“We are extremely grateful to Paul and the team for taking on such a big challenge to raise money for Dougie Mac. We rely hugely on the support of the local community to raise the money we need to continue our care services for local families. Last year we amalgamated The Donna Louise Children’s Hospice into Dougie Mac, which means that in addition to caring for adults, we also support local children and young adults living with life-limiting conditions, and their families.
“The money raised through this fantastic challenge will help us to continue our wide range of specialist care services at our two hospice sites and across the local community. We wish the team lots of luck and on behalf of all the families who will benefit from their fundraising, we’d like to say a massive thank you.”
Donna Adams, Head of Fundraising, Dougie Mac
To donate to the Walk of Hope challenge, visit the Just Giving page: justgiving.com/team/thewalkofhope
