This weekend, three employees from a Ruddington firm are beginning the challenge of walking the Pennine Way in just 14 days – in aid of a local children’s hospice.
The trio, who all work at Quotient Sciences on Mere Way, are taking on the 268 mile trek to raise money for Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People in Loughborough.
Adam Ball (26), Tom Gailey (28) and Ben Foster (29), who all began working for the company in January 2018, are pictured (top) just before setting off from there today to start their adventure. It begins this Saturday 3rd July, from Kirk Yetholm in Scotland, and they aim to reach Edale, in Derbyshire, on Saturday 17th July. Averaging at 19 miles a day, depending on terrain and weather conditions, they are camping at night and carrying everything they need for the trek on their backs.
They chose the challenge because Quotient Sciences supports Rainbows – which provides care for 300 children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening illness – including youngsters from Nottinghamshire. The colleagues, who have already exceeded their original fundraising target of £3,000, say they are looking forward to spending time outdoors and being back to basics, but dreading blisters and the lack of hot showers!
“After the year we’ve just been through, we felt like we really wanted to challenge ourselves physically and mentally” explains Ben. “We’re keen hikers, so the Pennine Way seemed a really good opportunity to push ourselves and raise some money for charity. Quotient Sciences have been really supportive and have been partnered with Rainbows for a couple of years. With the lack of fundraising events over the last year we wanted to try and make a difference. We’ve seen how amazing rainbows has been for a colleague and what a fantastic charity it is.”
Ben adds: “The three of us know there will be some suffering along the way and there will be times when we feel like giving in. But that suffering is only minor compared to what some children and their families go through. Which is why we want this journey to help do some good and help make the difference for children, young people and their loved ones, who need the care and support Rainbows offer.”
Emily Wright, Rainbows Corporate Fundraiser, says: “What Ben, Adam and Tom are doing is incredible and we can’t thank them enough. Without the support of fundraisers like these guys and companies like Quotient Sciences, we would simply not be able to open our doors to the hundreds of families who rely on our care.”
You can also sponsor the Ruddington trio by visiting justgiving.com/fundraising/penninewaytrek2021. They’re posting updates on their trek on their dedicated Instagram page @Penninewaytrek2021.
{Thanks to Ben, Quotient Sciences and Rainbows for the images}
