Jamie Groves, Regional Development Director of Funeral Partners Greater London South has raised hundreds of pounds for cancer support by running more than the distance of a marathon after being inspired by his nan who was diagnosed with the disease.
Jamie woke up at 5:30am to run 5km as part of the daily exercise limit imposed by lockdown for 10 days, reaching an ambitious 50km total to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
He said: “Charities such as Macmillan need funding more than ever right now, so we must find ways to energise people to donate while following lockdown rules.”
Jamie and his colleagues host regular fundraising activities for Macmillan such as coffee mornings, however restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic forced him to think outside the box.
He got in touch with the charity who suggested the 10 Day 5K challenge. Jamie created his fundraising page with a modest £50 target which was exceeded within an hour and has now raised nearly £400.
Jamie said: “The support has been overwhelming. It’s amazing to see that despite the difficulties people are going through, they’re willing to help others.
“I passed Croydon University Hospital on one of my routes and thinking about the amount of work they’re putting into saving lives really inspired me to keep going.”
Hebe Wright, Relationship Fundraising Manager for London at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “I want to say a huge thank you to Jamie for his enormous achievement of running 50K for Macmillan and all the people with cancer we are able support because of people like him. “Jamie is an inspiration and beacon of hope in these trying times. Without him and those who donated to his run, we simply would not be able to do as much for the growing number of people who need us. It’s never been more important as we strive to ensure cancer doesn’t become ‘the Forgotten C’ during the Covid pandemic.”
