Upcoming challenges
September 2018 - Cardiff 10k
Other challenges/events being planned
24 hour Twitch livestream
Wales 3 Peaks challenge
Aberystwyth 10k 2018
GungHo! 5k 2019 (multiple runs)
Completed challenges so far!
22/07/17 - TCC Light up the Night 10k walk
03/12/17 - Aberystwyth Charity 10k
05/05/18 - GungHo! 5k Cardiff - team effort with colleagues from Stokes Case Management
02/06/17 - Organised a #LightuptheNight walk in Aberystwyth and fundraised over £2600!!!
--------------------
Tenovus Cancer Care is a charity very close to my heart. For over 6 years, I have been volunteering with Tenovus Cancer Care in a number of areas, from retail work and administration roles, to event marshalling and photography.
Throughout that time, I've transitioned from college, to university, to work, yet my engagement and commitment with the charity hasn't changed. I've seen the charity grow and offer new services since I started volunteering with them, and witnessed first hand just how much Tenovus Cancer Care has helped people affected by cancer.
--------------------
At first sight, you probably wouldn't think that I've been affected by cancer. While I'm fortunate to not have been diagnosed with cancer, that doesn't mean that it still hasn't affected me.
Before I began volunteering with Tenovus Cancer Care, I had three close family members who were diagnosed by cancer. My Nan and Aunt were both diagnosed with Breast Cancer, and both were able to get treatment to beat this.
My mothers diagnosis was the one that hit me hard. She was diagnosed with Womb Cancer, and by this point, it had already spread. Thankfully, they were able to treat it and prevent further growth by performing a hysterectomy. However, this also came with some of its own side effects. As well as no longer being able to have a child, there were also some knock-on effects to her mental health. I remember a couple of days after my mother was discharged from the hospital, waking up during the early hours of the morning to the sound of my mother crying in bed. I must have spent about an hour just sitting there with her trying to comfort her, until she was tired enough to fall back asleep.
This hit the family hard as well. Trying to fit time around school work or errands and the additional costs from repeated hospital visits really wore us down. I remember one person retaliating at me during one of my lowest points saying "well you didn't have cancer!", but it doesn't work like that.
Since then, I've made it my mission to support everyone around me where I can. Whether that's signposting them to services or charities that can help, or even just lending them an ear to let them talk about their worries.
--------------------
Following the 2016 Volunteer Awards and receiving the 'Young Volunteer' award, I've been looking to find ways to help raise funds for the charity due to the lack of time I've had to volunteer. For a long time, I've wanted to create my own fundraising campaign for Tenovus Cancer Care to show my support away from the volunteering.
Orignally I was looking at trekking Machu Picchu, however due to ongoing personal issues I've sadly had to cancel this and look at other forms of fundraising. And I want to make it as physically challenging as possible (but without killing myself thanks...)
Now I'm not fit at all. If you asked me to do a 5k, I'd probably collapse at the 0.5k mark. I actually did try to do a 10k whilst at university when I was in better shape, and even then, I ran the first 1k, and spent the next 9k walking and wheezing towards the finish line. So this is going to be a behemoth of a challenge.
So why am I doing this? Just to quote my fav gal Lightning (don't judge me...), "It's not a question of can or can't. Some things in life you just do!"
I would do anything I can for Tenovus Cancer Care. The charity has become such an important part of my life and I genuinely believe the charity makes such a big impact on cancer care in Wales, both for cancer patients and for those close to them. I will always be part of #TeamTenovus.
I really want to go all out with this and help fundraise as much as possible for Tenovus Cancer Care. So far I've already organised a mass #LightuptheNight walk in Aberystwyth (which turned out to be a behemoth challenge in itself) and have done a small number of challenging events.
I'm aiming to regularly update my Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn with updates about my fundraising, and showing off some of the Tenovus Cancer Care events and challenges on the way. And of course, I'll be updating this JustGiving page as much as possible.
Please help me and show your support for Tenovus Cancer Care by making a donation. Any support you can show for #TeamTenovus, and for this would be massively appreciated, and I hope you all enjoy following me on my fundraising journey.
