TV star and Strictly Come Dancing finalist, Emma Barton, has taken her love of walking and turned it into a fundraising challenge to raise money for QEF. Emma is Patron of our Survive and Thrive emergency appeal and she took on her own ‘Reach the Peak – The Big Climb’ challenge on Sunday (6th September) raising £1,200.
The challenge asks participants to get sponsored to complete the equivalent miles from one of the famous three Peaks; Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Scafell Pike and either run or walk the distance or climb the ascent in stairs of their chosen Peak. This event takes place all through September and will help the charity reach the peak of its emergency fundraising appeal.
Emma was joined by her friends, husband and wife Paula and Sophie Fletcher, Jo Harman and Jim Pearce to walk 13 miles through Dunsfold, Hambledon and Hascombe, completing the equivalent distance of Ben Nevis.
She said: “Even though I have lived in Surrey for more than 20 years’, during lockdown it became apparent to me that I hadn’t really explored what was on my backdoor step and like many people re-discovered a love of walking and the outdoors. So, when QEF asked if I would like to take part in its Reach the Peak challenge I jumped at the chance.
“Whilst I walk my gorgeous dog, Poppy, every day I haven’t ever undertaken any long mileage walks like this, so I was really looking forward to challenging myself to finish it. I chose my team wisely as I had a physio and personal trainer onboard should anything go wrong, but we had such a lovely day taking in views from around the region that I had never seen before and even ended up celebrating the finish with a pub lunch and a pint at the end! This challenge is a great way to get back into walking again and a brilliant excuse for people to support QEF.”
Money raised through Emma’s online sponsorship page will go towards our ‘Survive and Thrive’ appeal which was launched in June to help mitigate the financial losses suffered due to the impact of COVID-19.
Jolene Ryan, Events Development Executive at QEF said: “What a wonderful effort from Emma and her friends and a brilliant way for us to launch the final challenge of our Survive and Thrive appeal. We hope everyone will get behind us and join up to take part as there are no excuses with both indoor and outdoor options to cover the miles! Every penny raised will help us edge that bit closer to our fundraising goal and help us to continue our work changing the lives of adults and children with disabilities across the UK.”
