CLIMBING Everest in a nappy and Barbie dolls scaling Ben Nevis have been among the mountainous fund-raising efforts for The Myton Hospices.
Having been forced to cancel or postpone all of our planned fund-raising events due to Covid-19, the charity has been asking supporters to scale virtual peaks as part of its #MytonMountain campaign instead.
And more than £5,000 has already been raised by the #MytonMountaineers who have gone, quite literally, above and beyond for the cause.
Rachel Thorpe ‘virtually’ climbed Everest in just two weeks, in memory of family friend James McHugh who was cared for at Coventry Myton Hospice, and wearing a different fancy dress every day, including a nun’s habit, a cowgirl costume and a nappy.
Her dog Dolly even joined in the fun, dressing up as Super Dog for moral support on Rachel’s way to raising over £1,800.
Dolly is not the only dog to have been supporting the challenge. Mollie was cheering on her ‘mum’ Harriet and Barry and William were cheering on their ‘mum’ Teri.
The canine companions have been joined by two dolls, Myton Henley-in-Arden shop’s mascots Stella and McCartney, who were ably helped on their mission up Ben Nevis by manager Alison Cantrill.
Myton’s younger supporters have also been rising to the challenge.
Ten-year-old Luke Harris-Platt is hoping to reach the peak of Everest in memory of his grandpa John Platt who was cared for at Warwick Myton Hospice in December. Luke started the challenge four months after his grandfather died and so far has climbed Scafell Pike and raised £530.
Luke said: “I want to raise money for Myton hospice where they brilliantly looked after my grandpa for free. My grandpa was amazing. He always made us laugh and thank you to Myton Hospice where he had such a peaceful death.”
Meanwhile Sophie and Luke Osprey have decided to climb New Zealand’s Mount Cook in memory of their cousin’s grandpa Malcolm Frearson and have already raised £255.
The #MytonMountaineers have all been sharing updates on Facebook at www.mytonhospice.org/myton-mountain-group and have raised thousands of pounds already to support Myton during the pandemic, which has had a devastating impact on the charity.
But Myton still wants to get more people signed up to help keep the money coming in as they battle unprecedented cuts to their fund-raising efforts.
Chris Willmott, corporate fundraiser at Myton said: “We want to say a huge thank you to everyone that has taken part in the #MytonMountain challenge so far, we have loved watching your progress and have been blown away by your determination and support for Myton.
“Together you have raised thousands which will make a huge difference, especially at this difficult time – thank you!
“And please remember that if you haven’t already signed up, it’s not too late to join us.”
The campaign features six challenges, ranging from the Malvern Hills to Everest. Using the average height of a UK staircase, Myton has worked out the number of times participants would have to climb their stairs to scale the following peaks:
Everest – 29,079ft = 3,695 stair ascents
Kilimanjaro – 19,340ft = 2,457 stair ascents
Ben Nevis – 4,413ft = 561 stair ascents
Snowdon – 3,560ft = 452 stair ascents
Scafell Pike – 3,210ft = 408 stair ascents
Malvern Hills – 1,394ft = 177 stair ascents
Stair descents do not count, as you would have to climb back down. Sign up here
