Josh Riley, 29, from Wigan is walking and running 80 miles from Windermere to Wigan in 2 days, on Saturday June 19, to raise money for Wigan charity, The Brick.
The Brick operates across Wigan and Leigh, providing person-led, strength-based support to people experiencing tough times, including homelessness, emotional distress, debt, poverty or hunger.
On June 19, Josh an office worker by day, will donn his walking shoes and set off from *Josh an office worker by day will donn his walking shoes and set off from Bowness Bay in Windermere on a solo excursion back to his home in Wigan, 80 miles away and Josh is looking for support and encouragement along the way.
Josh Riley said: “I have followed the great work of The Brick for many years. They are a local charity to me and my family, and the work they do to help our community is so inspirational. The more people that come together to raise money for the team at The Brick, then the more they will be able to do.
“I have always been an active person and over recent years I have been thinking of some tough challenges I can set myself. This is a long distance to complete over a short amount of time so it is quite the challenge for me.”
Josh and his family have hosted a number of fundraising initiatives including walks and runs and between them they have raised over £1,000 to date for The Brick. This latest challenge means all the more to Josh as he is hoping that the money he raises will go someway to help The Brick, who like other charities across the UK, have experienced extremely tough times during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Keely Dalfen, Finance and Commercial Director at The Brick, said: “We are always extremely grateful and humbled by the challenges that people in our community set themselves to raise money for our charity. The Brick works with people across Wigan and Leigh who are facing difficult times, and the money and support that people like Josh provide enables us to continue to do the work we do, and to help even more people and families.
“We will be looking out for Josh when he returns to Wigan on Sunday June 20 and we would encourage everyone in Wigan to look out for Josh too, and to support him on his final leg of his inspirational expedition!”