Thank you for visiting our fundraising page. We were on bmycharity for 4 years but transferred our fundraising total of £124 469.20 to Just Giving on 5 November 2015 and intend to carry on raising money in memory of Kev for the foreseeable future.
The story so far:
Colour Serjeant Kevin Fortuna of A Company, 1 Rifles, was killed on active service in Afghanistan on 23 May 2011. Kev joined the Army at 16 and died three weeks before his 37th birthday. He was about to be promoted to Company Serjeant Major and had served in Iraq (twice), Afghanistan (twice), Kosovo, the Balkans and Ireland (four times) winning 9 medals for his service to Queen and Country.
As a family we raised £4000 for Help for Heroes in 2011, mainly due to Nia's run in the London Marathon on the day that Kev flew out to Afghanistan for the last time.
In 2012 we looked to better that and set ourselves a target of £10,000. Nia and her friend Louise did a skydive on the first anniversary of Kev's death raising £3268; my wife, Sue, held a summer garden party and hog roast raising £2350; and my son Joe, and his cousins Matt and Dan, cycled 366 miles in 5 days from the Cenotaph in London to Portsmouth, where Kev was born, then to a World War II War Memorial in Bayeux France, where they laid crosses and then back to Kev's graveside in Colchester Cemetery where they again laid crosses in remembrance of Kev. Their challenge raised £5175. Additionally, a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous donated £8000 worth of merchandise, through our challenges, to Chavasse House, the Colchester Recovery Centre. In 2012 I ran,swam and cycled 2230 miles to raise money too.
In the end, our total funds collected during 2012 reached a staggering £42,369.
On 1 January 2013, my wife Sue and I became Local Coordinators for H4H in Essex, so in addition to running our own events we are helping others with theirs.
We started with modest intentions and I can't believe the generosity of everyone around us. We never dreamed of reaching £50k but once we did, we thought we could do it again and by December 2014 we had! So, the next target is £250 000.
I have around 70 collecting tubs and 20 boxes of wristbands and lapel pins in shops, pubs, gyms, offices and peoples houses and we are regularly organising and running more events.
On 26 April 2015 Nia ran the London Marathon for the second time for H4H and raised £3470.
By 10 March 2019 we had reached the next milestone - £200 000. So, the end is in sight (possibly two years away), or is it?
Throughout our activities, Sue Fortuna (Kev's Mum) has been incredibly supportive of and has contributed significantly to our fund total. She has also spent a lot of time looking after Nia's dog, Bailey, so that we could press on with the fundraising.
This charity web page will remain open indefinitely so any donations that you are able to give will be very much appreciated and will make a big difference to the lives of our brave heroes.
Donating through this page is simple, quick and secure. It is the most efficient way to give – so every donation goes further – and if you are a UK taxpayer and give Gift Aid consent you will boost your donation.
Many people have donated money anonymously. We have no way of knowing who you are but please accept our very warm and heart-felt appreciation for your generosity.
Thank you so much for your support, it is really appreciated, not just by us, but especially by "Our Blokes" to whom you are making a significant and positive difference to their quality of life.
Mike
