Helping the fight against cancer with every step…

Julie Moorhouse, our Regional Manager in the North, talks about her fundraising efforts in aid of Macmillan Cancer Research.

Over the weekend of 13th and 14th July, a group of friends and I completed a 40-mile hike from Brampton, Cumbria to Newcastle’s Quayside along the World Heritage Site of Hadrian’s Wall, which runs a total of 80 miles from the Sollway Coast to Wallsend in Newcastle.

The walk, inspired by a very close friend of mine who sadly passed away in February of 2017, was the second hiking challenge for us, the first of which being a day-long, 20-mile trek around Lake Ullswater in the Lake District, which we completed last year.

After my friend Gav passed away, I wanted to do something that would raise much needed funds for the charities which supported him through his illness, whilst also paying tribute to someone who is truly missed.  We chose the two challenges based on the group’s ability and something that we could all achieve together.

This year’s challenge itself was pretty tough, I would say more mentally then physically, with over 20 hours of walking across the two days.  Day one provided some fantastic scenery taking in parts of the wall and numerous fortes along the way, whilst day two was slightly more repetitive as we took in lots of fields before the more industrial approach to the Quayside.  We were lucky to get a glorious weekend of weather, the only downside being we also had sunburn to contend with as well as all the blisters!

The walks combined have helped us raise almost £3,000 for local charity Butterwick Hospice Care and Macmillan Cancer Support.  Our plan is to take on a hike every year in memory of Gav whilst adding to our pot of funding for local and national cancer charities.

I am already considering 2020’s challenge which may involve a summit or two – this is not going to be a popular choice with those members of the group who are afraid of heights!

I have worked at Kajima Community for seven years and now support a number of departments including Operations, Customer Services, Marketing and our Newcastle office.  I’m really proud of how all departments work together to achieve our company objectives – we’ve a real team spirit within community and a can-do attitude, which is really refreshing.

If you would like to donate to Macmillan Cancer Support, please visit my Just Giving page at:

https://www.justgiving.com/teams/the-four-musketeers-plus-one