Dave Heeley is fundraising for The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association

Seven Magnificent Marathons

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Raising money for

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association

Charity Registration No. in England and Wales 209617 and Scotland SC038979

The ability to get around is vital in order to live a full life yet thousands of blind and partially-sighted people never leave home alone. We empower visually-impaired people to live their lives how they want to.

We breed and train guide dogs which provide life changing mobility and there are currently 4,500 working guide dog partnerships in the UK. Guide dog owners only have to pay a nominal 50p for their dog to ensure no-one is prevented from having one due to lack of funds but the full lifetime cost of a guide dog from birth to retirement is £49,800. We rely on the support of the public to fund our services.

We also provide other mobility services such as rehabilitation and white cane training as well as campaign passionately to break down barriers – both physical and legal – to enable blind and partially-sighted people to get around on their own.

Page owner

Dave Heeley

Page closes

04/01/2009

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Raised: 34%

Target: £100,000.00
Raised so far: £33,603.02

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My story

Guide Dogs' Seven Magnificent Marathons

I am a guide dog owner, known as ‘Blind Dave’ and after ten years of fundraising for Guide Dogs, yesterday (Sunday 13 April) I completed my greatest challenge yet! I have finished my ‘Seven Magnificent Marathons’ challenge – seven marathons, on seven continents, in seven days. This challenge is an effort to raise awareness of visual impairment around the globe, and to raise funds for The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

With my friend and sighted guide Malcolm Carr and our support team we started on 7 April 2008 in Mount Pleasant - Falkland Islands in Antarctica. This was followed by six subsequent gruelling legs in Rio De Janeiro (South America), Los Angeles (North America), Sydney (Australasia), Dubai (Asia), Tunis, Tunisia (Africa) and London (Europe) – arriving in spectacular style for the Flora London Marathon on Sunday 13 April.

Having an army of supporters at the Flora London Marathon made such an enormous difference to my exhausted body and mind, and helped me find that extra bit of strength from within to complete the final leg of the Seven Magnificent Marathons.

I will carry every single person that joined me for the last 26.2 miles of the challenge in my heart, as I succeeded in proving to the world that sight loss is no barrier to independence and human achievement.

Having experienced sight loss since birth, I know how terrifying life can seem. However, I have been fortunate enough to have had my life transformed by Guide Dogs. That is why I was determined to create awareness of visual impairment around the globe in an effort to improve services for blind and partially sighted people, while also raising money for Guide Dogs. By doing this, I am hoping to make a personal difference to the lives of blind and partially sighted people worldwide by bringing mobility issues to the forefront of people’s minds, and help fund the training of more guide dogs for blind or partially sighted people in the UK.

If you would like to know more about the event you can visit: www.7mm.org.uk.

Your support and donations for my challenge are very welcomed, Guide Dogs is totally self sufficient in their fundraising as the government or local authorities offer no financial support whatsoever, so any money you donate is gratefully excepted and will be of huge importance to the ongoing work of Guide Dogs.

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. Please dig deep and sponsor me.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Guide Dogs will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 25% in tax will be added to your gift at no extra cost to you.

So please sponsor me now!

Many thanks,
Blind Dave

All donations are processed in GBP's (£) so if you're donating from outside the UK you may want to double check rate of exchange using a currency converter like this one: http://www.xe.com/ucc/

	Great teamwork well done everyone Donation by Eric&Lynn 16/04/08	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	Congratulations to you and your team. What you have achieved is truly inspirational. Hope you are recovering well!! Donation by Rebecca 16/04/08	£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid
	Well done Dave and Mack. I'm partially sighted and you are an inspiration!! Donation by Caroline Warby 16/04/08	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	well done Dave Donation by Ken 15/04/08	£10.00
	Brilliant!!! My daughter ran with you in Sydney - what an inspiration! Donation by Liz 15/04/08	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	Unbelievable. Well done! Donation by Victoria Pearson 15/04/08	£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
	Inspirational! An amazing achievement, well done. Donation by Ruth Pellow 15/04/08	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	Congratulations- a fantastic achievement - - you've put West BROM ON THE MAP ! Donation by Les W 15/04/08	£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid
	Your achievement is awesome! Well done from all of us! Donation by Loose Boots Line Dancers 15/04/08	£35.00
	Well done to you both on your 7 marathons in 7 days. Hopefully our donations and your efforts can make a difference to Blind People. Donation by Andrew 15/04/08	£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
	Well done to both of you! I ran in London on Sunday and saw you, don't know how you managed to complete 7 marathons, its amazing!! Donation by Laura Breeden 15/04/08	£10.00
	Congratulations to you both, you are an inspiration to everyone. Donation by Debbie Hibbitt 15/04/08	£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
	INCREDIBLE. Don't know how you both mentally and physically did 7 marathons in 7 days. Well Done. Donation by Mandy,Chris and G/D B/B Fiona 15/04/08	£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid
	Brilliant! Glad you completed it safe & sound! Donation by Chris & Kath Fantom 15/04/08	£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
	You are incredible and so is your running partner. Fantastic! Donation by Jill 15/04/08	£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
	Wonderful effort from you both and the team Donation by Brenda 15/04/08	£60.00
	Donation by Hayley 15/04/08	£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid
	words fail me,what an inspiration you both are Donation by dennis andrews 15/04/08	£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid
	I ran London on Sunday and saw you at 7 miles. The thought of another 6 marathons on successive days... an inspiration, both of you. Donation by Hayley Brewis 15/04/08	£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
	The world needs people like you two Donation by Graham Perkin 15/04/08	£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid
	How special can you get, you are both humbling to us all! Donation by Derek Rowley 15/04/08	£100.00 + £28.21 Gift Aid
	wow what an inspirational story to follow Donation by Gaynor Jones 15/04/08	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	A Wonderful Achievment Donation by Olwen & Michael 15/04/08	£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid
	I was born in West Brom and have been cheering you on from my armchair!; I think you are both fantastic blokes - well done x Donation by Michelle 15/04/08	£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid
	Unbelieveable achievment - you should be very proud of yourselves. Well done!! Donation by Simon Leeds 15/04/08	£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
	You and Mac are an inspiration, sorry I can't give more. From a fellow runner at FLM and many local races in the midlands Donation by Pete Walters 15/04/08	£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid
	Fantastic Donation by Roy 15/04/08	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	Good wishes for the future Donation by Anonymous 15/04/08	£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid
	A wonderful achievement deserving national recognition Donation by Bill and Sue Flint 15/04/08	£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid
	The news is usually full of bad depressing stuff------and then there's you two!! God Bless You Both! Fantastic! Donation by Jo Henshaw 15/04/08	£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

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* Total raised online:	£17,663.17
Offline donations:	£15,939.85
Gift Aid plus supplement:	£4,179.26

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