What Motivates Someone to Take on a Fundraising Challenge?
Emma is a participant on our Great Wall of China Trek 2020. She recently told us about what motivates her to support patients and staff at Velindre Cancer Centre through taking on this demanding challenge…
“Everyone has their own motivation for signing up to a trip such as this, whether it’s because of personal experience of cancer & the desire to be able to give something back; supporting family members or friends who have previously or who currently use the services of Velindre or simply because they acknowledge that Velindre offer such a fantastic service & in the back of their mind know that statistically, they themselves, or someone very close to them will need the support of Velindre at some point in the future….
In my view cancer takes no prisoners & regardless of how well you look after your body, cancer is something that even the fittest can’t escape…you can eat the healthy diet, you can join in the gym classes, you can avoid too much alcohol, you can give the cigarettes a miss but if the big man upstairs decides it’s your turn to battle this terrible disease, you have little say in the matter.
Myself, I have lost five members of my family to cancer, two of which were I say fortunate enough, although not really fortunate, to use the services of Velindre…unfortunately they weren’t to make it & instead left a gaping hole in lives of those around them. I have seen a close friend lose her Mum, but thanks to the fabulous staff at Velindre, managed to remain positive throughout, until the very end. And I have seen a close friend lose her husband through cancer…. & they are just those that I would say I am close to…
I have heard so many different people’s experiences of Velindre already & people have been surprisingly happy to share their own experiences, but not one person has had a bad word to say about the services that they have received; it’s been nothing but praise…
It is for these reasons that I have signed up to trek the Great Wall of China in May 2020 to raise much needed funds for Velindre… there is of course the other factor which I have failed to mention so far…the fact that I am a huge fan of Mr Rhod Gilbert of course had its part to play at the beginning & assisted me in my initial decision to sign up, along with the powers of persuasion of my friend…but having already spoken to several people on my fundraising journey there is so much more to it for me now. I’ve climbed mountains before but this is going to be so much more than that…it’s going to be one huge challenge but I’m up for it & more than up for it…failing is not an option…”
– Emma Eatwell, China Trek Participant
As well as the actual challenge itself, our China Trek participants like Emma will dedicate a year’s worth of hard work in raising funds to help Velindre provide over and above the NHS standard services for cancer patients and their families.
Emma has organized a variety of fundraising activities over the next year in order to reach her £6000 target, from quiz nights to bucket collections and coffee mornings, and was recently lucky enough to be donated a voucher from www.experiencedays.co.uk to use as a prize in a fundraising raffle.
The next year is going to be a challenging time for our China Trek participants. But with such strong motivation to help those affected by cancer in South Wales, we know they’ll overcome any hurdle and we can’t wait to see what they’ll achieve.
