A woman from Llandantffraid in Powys ran every day in December and managed to fundraise four times her original goal of £250, donating £1,000 to the charity that supports blind and partially sighted ex-Service men and women, Blind Veterans UK.
As well as running every day, 35-year-old Sam Bunning took on a series of increasingly challenging targets from a 5k to a half marathon.
After hitting her original goal of £250 quickly, Sam decided to add the extra challenge of running 100 miles in the month of December and increased her target to £1,000.
Sam says:
“After three weeks of running every day, an old knee issue flared up on Boxing Day which put a bit of a spanner in the works for the half marathon. So, to make sure I completed the challenge, I shared the half marathon with my husband, alternating 3km stints.
“I was absolutely blown away by the support from friends, family and even strangers. I’m so pleased to be able to donate this money to an absolutely brilliant charity.”
After Sam raised £585, her husband Dale decided to make a donation from his company, DA Bunning Gas Ltd, in order to hit the £1,000 target. He says:
“We’re a family business and we like to do our bit for charity. On top of that, Sam’s grandfather helped us out when we started the business so given the amazing support he’s had from the charity, this was a way to pay him back after all these years.”
Sam says:
“My grandfather was in the Navy and 20 years ago he started to lose his sight. The support the charity gave him in the early days was just amazing to see. They quickly got him up and running on a specially adapted computer so he could continue with his family history research.
“He’s in his 90s now and most of his Navy friends have sadly passed. So being able to visit the charity’s rehabilitation and training centre in Llandudno means the world to him. It also gives my mum some critical respite as his primary carer.”
Blind Veterans UK has adapted its service to support its 5,000 beneficiaries, 90% of whom are over 70 and at an increased risk from Covid-19. The National Support Service has and will continue to help blind veterans through this period of social isolation.
Nicky Shaw, Blind Veterans UK Director of Operations said:
“Living in isolation, blind veterans need our help right now with daily tasks, such as the shopping, and constant emotional support through this difficult time. So we are temporarily changing our service and mobilising our staff to provide practical, essential support to help the most vulnerable.
“There is so much that we can and must do to support blind veterans to help them maintain physical and emotional wellbeing, and to feel safe, reassured and cared for during this crisis.”
You can keep updated on Blind Veterans UK’s response to Covid-19 at blindveterans.org.uk/coronavirus where you can also find out more about supporting the charity to make this new service possible.
