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Supporter Steve getting on
his bike for charity
DEDICATED fundraiser Steve Walls and a
team of friends have already got on their bikes twice to raise funds for the
Royal with long distance bike rides; and now they are planning a
⅓ long
distance cycle to make the new Royal even better. When his wife Barbara was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013 and treated at
the Linda McCartney Centre at the Royal, Steve was determined to help. So he
rallied some fellow Liverpool Freemasons and in June 2014 they cycled the 133
miles from Leeds to Liverpool to raise funds, with Steve's son Chris as a member
of the all important 3 man support team. "When we reached the Pier Head, Barbara was all smiles and delighted with
our achievement. I
finished on my 62nd birthday, and it was a wonderful homecoming. That's when we
decided we had to do it again, and then make it a hat trick of rides." says Steve, 63, a father of 2 from Garston.
The epic cycle ride raised £5,830, with £3,160 going to the Linda McCartney
Centre and the remainder to other charities.
The July 2015 team cycled 163 miles coast to coast, from the Humber Bridge to
the Pier Head, raising a further £3,800 for the Centre; almost £7,000 in all.
"Sadly Barbara passed away in March 2015 aged just 69... But we were determined to go ahead with our fundraising to help
other patients and families." says
Steve,
 In all the team have raised over £11,500 through the two rides, with two other
charities benefiting by over £4,600. The team pay their own expenses, and all
donations go to charity.
Since the team were determined to complete three challenges, this year's feat
starting on 8 June 2016 is a 'Street to Street' cycle. "Street to
Street doesn't sound much, but we're cycling from outside the Royal on Prescot
Street in Liverpool, to Great Queen Street, Covent Garden in London. We are committed to fundraising to recognize the support the Royal has
given so many families, and to help R Charity provide even better facilities to
help patients and families in the future. We're not superheroes; we just get on
with it. We have already raised £3,500 towards this year's
target of £5,000 and hopefully we will achieve that before the end of the ride."
The funds raised over the 3 events have been ring fenced by R Charity, and
will be used to part fund equipping one of the state of the art inpatient cancer
treatment rooms at the new Royal and are part of R Charity's £10million
fundraising Appeal to make the new Royal even better for patients.
The charity now aims to erect a plaque in Barbara's memory, and to thank Steve
and the team of riders and support team for their achievements.
Aimee Clare, senior community fundraising manager for R Charity, said:-
"Steve and his team have done so well. It's so exciting to hear that they have
set themselves another challenge for 2016! I'll look forward to meeting them
before they set off."
To support the 2016 ride or make a donation in support of the ride, they can
contact Steve and the R Charity fundraising team, at the Royal, via:-
email
or by calling:- 0151 706 3150 to find out how. |
