Thank you to the amazing team at Bolt Burdon Kemp (BBK) solicitors who completed their epic 4x4x48 fundraising challenge for the Limbless Association last weekend.
At midday on Friday 15th October, the intrepid group led by Josh Hughes – Partner and Head of the company’s Complex Injuries Team – set off from Brentwood, walking and running 4 miles every 4 hours through the day and night for 48 hours. They travelled a total of 48 miles (77 kilometres) in only two days with the aim of raising £8,000 for the LA.
We were delighted to meet them and cheer them on at lunchtime on Saturday 16th when they reached the halfway point of their challenge at the new prosthetic limb fitting centre at Mayflower Community Hospital in Billericay.
Our national Outreach Team – who are all amputees – were also supporting them through our social media and with their own 4x4x48 Zoomathon and some were even doing their own 4-mile walking challenges to raise more donations.
We caught up with Josh afterwards and he told us: “All BBK participants managed to complete all 48 miles over the two days, having started at midday on Friday and crossing the finish line at around 9am on Sunday. We really did experience the full array of highs and lows during that time – from the fist bumps and cheers of encouragement from The Sugar Hut revellers during our midnight walks/runs along Brentwood High Street to the lows of our alarms going off at 3:30am ready for miles 40-44 on Sunday morning.
“Personally, without the accountability of having my BBK colleagues around me during those lows, I’m not sure we would have managed it. Similarly, the constant support from the LA during the whole event was a genuine lifeline. Every time we looked at social media or our emails we could see messages of encouragement from the LA who were always there, despite tackling their own Zoomathon challenge alongside.
“The event highlight must be the Saturday event that the LA held at the Mayflower Community Hospital in Billericay. We were, at that point, 24 hours and 24 miles into the event and so seeing the balloons, the food and welcoming faces was a hugely welcome experience for us all.
“At the core of this event is, of course, fundraising and profile-raising for the LA. With money still to be collected and totted up, we are looking towards having raised in excess of £9,000 which we are incredibly pleased about and grateful to everyone who contributed. It may just make the blisters heal just that little bit quicker!”
Our CEO Deborah Bent thanked Josh and his colleagues for their outstanding efforts: “The Limbless Association is a charity and we couldn’t support all of the amputees and their families who need our help without the generosity of the public and sponsors like Bolt Burdon Kemp. We are incredibly grateful to BBK for choosing to fundraise for us and were thrilled to meet Josh and his amazing colleagues at Billericay and cheer them on to the finish line.”
