FareShare
FareShare delivers surplus food to almost 10,000 local charities and community centres throughout the UK.
Every week!
So they are probably helping feed the most vulnerable people in your very own community.
I did a wee bit of fundraising for them before (and still do).
CouchSurfing HQ
Prior to fundraising for FareShare, and just following my ataxia diagnosis in 2015 (so also now knowing that my ability to walk would eventually be lost), I raised funds for Ataxia UK, via a series of “walks”.
During these walks, I would always wear a white Ataxia UK t-shirt & my kilt (to attract the maximum amount of publicity – which ultimately meant more donations); and walk with my walking stick (which I only needed for balance initially, but, over time, I would rely upon more for support).
These walks, which were the inspiration for the current DIY Walking Tours, mainly took place in city parks, or recognised walking routes, throughout the UK & Europe (London, Paris, Nice, Cannes, Milan, Parma, Pisa, Florence, Venice [abandoned], Ljubljana, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lille). Followed by a 4-day walk around the Isle of Arran in Scotland; a fateful wander along the Canal du Midi in France (immediately followed by a recovery stroll along the Côte d’Azur – from Monte Carlo to Cannes); and my final “walk” in the 2017 SuperheroTri “Winter Wonderwheels” event near Windsor (where I would team up with MBE-awarded, and Paralympic gold medal-winning, Susie Rodgers – and “compete” against The Last Leg-hosting Adam Hills, Paralympian superstar Jonnie Peacock, plus a whole host of MBE-awarded Paralympians and Invictus Games champions – in short, the great and good in the UK disability world at the time).
The longest walk though, which my needs meant had to be made in two stages, was a 500-mile-long trek down the Mediterranean coast of Spain.
Walking 500 Miles. In a kilt. And using a walking stick?!
For most of these “walks”, I relied upon the Couchsurfing network for accommodation, some truly memorable meals – and a neverending supply of laughter!
And the good people at the Couchsurfing HQ in the US, soon found out…
Beverley Harvey (Author)
Beverley Harvey interviewed myself during a previous FareShare fundraising project – the scheme that would eventually become The Street Library.
The dotScot Registry
Speaking of the Street Library….
The good people at dotScot are the very kind sponsors of the Street Library fundraising scheme.
Their financial backing is nothing new though. They have been very generously backing various projects of mine (always with a charitable slant – either via direct fundraising, or simply by raising awareness of a specific charity, and the services that that charity provides);
For over FOUR YEARS!
And, just as with the Street Library fundraising scheme, these previous projects would never have been so successful, and reached such a wide audience, without their ongoing support.
Daily Record
The biggest-selling national tabloid newspaper in Scotland had a few great words of encouragement to say too….
Brave Ayr man won’t let ataxia diagnosis stop him as he aims to walk the length of Spain….
The Sunday Post
As did the Sunday Post….
Man who suffers from incurable illness ataxia takes to the streets to raise awareness….
STV News
In 2017, STV (Scotland’s national TV broadcaster) put the word “ataxia” on the tip of yet more people’s tongues.
The original news story, which featured our 4-day walk around the stunning Isle of Arran (I was accompanied by the wonderful Graham Fryatt and Karen Servadei), has since been archived, but the archived version can be read here:
Arran Banner
The Arran Banner is the weekly newspaper on the Isle of Arran.
And prior to our walk around the island, they very kindly notified the good people of Arran, that 3 people wearing kilts would be wandering around the island (which helped explain all the waves, and honks of the horn, we were met with):
Ataxia UK (Magazine - Issue 196)
Ataxia Explained
When I was diagnosed with spinocerebellar ataxia in 2015, I’d never even heard of it before.
So if it’s new to yourself too, you’re definitely not alone (Ataxia UK ran a survey a few years ago, and 91% of the UK population hadn’t heard of it either).
So what is this “ataxia”?