NORTHAMPTON is within easy reach of London Euston – unless you choose to do it the way Kym Carvell and Jamie Cochrane from PBC Business Recovery and Insolvency in Moulton Park are doing it.
Spurred on by the excellent support a charity has provided to Kym and her family since Kym’s granddaughter Billie-Marie was born last August, the pair are planning to walk from Euston over four days in July.
While Billie-Marie, who was born 10 weeks prematurely, has been treated at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool, her parents have been able to take advantage of the nearby Ronald McDonald House, which provides free accommodation for parents and carers who want to stay close to their sick children.
Kym said: “Parents are already going through so much when their children are ill, the added stress of having to find somewhere to stay if the hospital is not local to them is something they just don’t need.”
“As a family we have seen first hand how important it is to not only have somewhere to stay, but somewhere with a direct phone line to the ward and with staff who can counsel and reassure worried parents, and I wanted to do something to help raise money to fund more of these houses so that other parents get the support my son and daughter-in-law have had.”
Kym’s colleague Jamie Cochrane, who has done a number of charity walks in the past, came up with the idea of walking from London. The pair aim to complete the walk over four days, averaging 20 miles a day and have set a fundraising target of £1,000.
Jamie said: “I wanted the challenge to be something new and different and this idea just occurred to me – it’ll be quite tough, particularly later on in the walk, but when you think of what Billie-Marie has endured, and what her family has gone through, a few blisters is nothing.”
Anyone wishing to support Kym and Jamie in their charity walk can visit the Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/James-Cochrane5