Gatwick Park patient walks 100km to raise money for local hospice
13 November 2018
In May of 2018, Mike Stepek's girlfriend Julie's father passed away from Mesothelioma, a form of Lung Cancer. St Peter and St James Hospice looked after him in his final days in the comfort of his own home. The support they gave both to him and to the family was second to none.
When Julie and Mike visited the hospice in July, they were very dismayed to hear that the hospice is by and large self funded with only 17% given by the government, 83% is obtained through donations and charity events.
Both Julie and Mike wanted to try and help in some small way and decided to take part in a charity walk organised by Action Challenge. The walk was 100 Kilometres starting from Putney Bridge in London walking along the Thames Path and finishing in Henley. They completed the walk, bar a couple of blisters, in 31 hours and 58 minutes starting at 8am on Saturday and finishing on Sunday just before 4pm. Julie was totally refreshed the following day whilst Mike said "I was walking something in between John Wayne and a weeble."
If it wasn't for the generous support of Spire Gatwick Park and the many other donors, they would not have achieved the £3,175 fundraising for the hospice.