Pair to walk between 3 hospices
On Monday 6 September, Chard Rotary Club President, Peter Stefanovic, and Past President, Paul Arnold, will walk 156 miles to raise funds for Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW).
The pair plan to walk between CHSW’s three hospices, starting at Charlton Farm in Wraxall, North Somerset, then onto Little Bridge House in North Devon and finally finishing at Little Harbour in St. Austell, Cornwall.
 and Paul Arnold (right) 1.jpg "Peter and Paul will walk to each of CHSW's hospices")
Rather than set a target of covering a certain number of miles per day they thought it would be more sensible to approach this challenge in terms of hours active each day.
Peter said: “We have been in training for some months and we've gradually built up the mileage and included hill walks in order to build up strength and stamina. As you can imagine, 'time on feet' is quite an important aspect of the training in order to prepare ourselves for the daily 5-hour walk. With that in mind, we thought it would be better to go for a daily time rather than push for a daily mileage; hills will make the difference to the mileage.”
The pair estimate the challenge will take between 9-14 days to complete.
Paul says he is taking on this challenge because he feels extremely fortunate that all his children and grandchildren are in good health: “I cannot imagine what the parents of children with life limiting conditions must be going through. I feel strongly that the care and support given by Children’s Hospice South West to these children and their families is very important at this difficult time in their lives.”
I feel strongly that the care and support given by Children’s Hospice South West to these children and their families is very important at this difficult time in their lives
Peter added: “I have some understanding of what parents of children with life limiting medical conditions and the wider members of those families are going through, as my granddaughter came close to death as a neonatal.”
Fortunately, Peter’s granddaughter survived, but he vividly remembers the anguish and mental torment that everyone went through when it was believed his granddaughter would not survive.
“The support from everyone concerned, including friends and other family members brought some comfort. I know that Children’s Hospice South West provides this care, and much more in abundance,” Peter added.
If you would like to the support Peter and Paul with their challenge, you can donate to their fundraising page.