- Menswear designer Harrison Thom is doing a fundraising hike in memory of his wife Lucinda's brother, who lived with Duchenne muscular dystrophy
- Harrison 30, has rediscovered his love for hiking as he plans the 20-mile loop
- He is very close to his wife’s family and will use his ‘online voice’ in honour of Greg Roberts, who died twelve years ago
- He will upload videos of himself training for the challenge to his Youtube channel ‘Thom Topics’, along with other social media (instagram @thomtopics and Facebook) to share the message
- When he does the walk, on 25 September, he will put a sign on his backpack which will include a QR code that will link to his Just Giving page.
- He will finish this series of videos by filming the day of the walk, sharing the scenery with viewers and making a final appeal for donations through this video
Harrison’s 20-mile hike is a hilly loop of the 'Edale Skyline' in the Peak District. It will include views of the Vale of Edale and Hope Valley and he hopes to complete it in 8-10 hours.
Starting from Hope, I will be doing the loop anti-clockwise. The last few miles of the walk will take me across the famous 'Mam Tor' and along the ‘Great ridge’ before descending back down to Hope. Harrison said:
I am very close to my wife’s family. Although, since we only married two years ago, Greg was never directly my brother- in- law, I see him as a relation now and this is my way to show support to the family. So far I have made my initial announcement video. I also plan to make a few videos about the preparation for the challenge. Most importantly, I will be filming on the day of the walk to make a special video of the challenge in action.
I hope that by doing this people who have donated will be more engaged with the challenge. For those who have not donated by the time I do the walk I’m hoping the videos will prompt them to do so. I’m using social media in the best way that I can to raise awareness of Muscular Dystrophy UK.
Have a look at his JustGiving page as well as his 'announcement video'.
Susanne Driffield, MDUK Regional Development Manager-North of England & East said:
Harrison’s challenge is great as it’s unique and because he will be ‘vlogging’ his whole day ready for a Youtube video. As soon as I saw his video I knew it was going to be a great fundraiser! I am so grateful to have his support in memory of his wife’s brother.
Harrison added:
My channel is still very young and only has a small subscriber following but it is growing slowly each week. Seeing that people would spend time watching the videos I made me think about how I could use this new 'online voice' as a way to fundraise for Muscular Dystrophy UK.