A chief executive of a Worcester charity has raised close to £6,000 for the charity he works for.
Fifty-seven-year-old Richard Whateley was joined by five friends to take on the Three Peaks Challenge over the May Bank Holiday weekend (30 April – 2 May) to raise funds for Barbourne-based The Myriad Centre, which provides specialist care and day respite for young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD).
Heading off on Saturday 30 April, the team tackled Ben Nevis in Scotland, contending with snow and minus 7-degree temperatures as they made their ascent. Scafell Pike in the Lake District followed, with the challenge finishing with a hike up Mount Snowdon in Wales.
Richard’s co-challengers, included team leader James Handford, Bruce McDonnell, David Edwards. Pete Hames and Sam Mottram. The money raised will go towards The Myriad Centre Appeal to redevelop the charity’s current premises in St George’s Walk.
“Myriad’s passion and our drive are to ensure that each of our clients is supported and is seen within the community enabling them to achieve their potential, so that their lives go beyond being cared for to being valued for who they are as people. We provide enriching activities such as music and art therapy, alongside hydrotherapy and physiotherapy, to improve our clients’ quality of life,” explains Richard.
There can be no doubt that the pandemic has taken its toll on the young people and families who use our Centre. So, there has never been a more important time to develop our services to redress the negative impact of the pandemic for our young people and meet the growing need for our specialist care and support. We now have a unique opportunity to establish a beacon of best practice, here in Worcestershire, and provide a voice for a group of highly vulnerable young people who are often overlooked.
We are just delighted to have raised this much for The Myriad Appeal and would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated and helped us smash our original fundraising target of £1,000.”