Water way to raise money!

Two ‘water champions’ put their best feet forward to help raise awareness of the need for clean water.

Surprisingly, the duo’s efforts were not aimed just at third world countries, but also in the North West.

Ribble Rivers Trust director Jack Spees, and Mark Rudd, a fisheries officer with the Environment Agency, took part in a charity ‘Walk for Water’ by hiking the length of the Ribble Way, from the estuary to the source of the River Ribble.

The 72-mile walk took 28 hours, beginning on Friday, August 1, at 6am at the Dolphin Inn at Longton and ending at 10am the following morning on Gayle Moor in the Yorkshire Dales.

The brave pair took on the challenge to raise money for two water charities – the Ribble Rivers Trust and WaterAid, and also to raise awareness of the need for clean water, both here in the North West and around the world.

Donations continue to roll in but at the last count, more than £5,000 had been raised, which will be split equally between the two charities.

The Ribble Trust’s share will allow them to reduce the amount of pollution entering our rivers and help prepare rivers and aquatic wildlife for issues that may arise from future climate change.

WaterAid’s share will go towards their ‘To Be A Girl’ campaign, helping them reach even more brave, strong, incredible girls with clean, safe water, transforming their lives – and their futures – forever.

And for every pound donated to WaterAid this summer, the UK Government will donate another, doubling the impact of fund-raising activities.

Jack said “The Walk for Water was one of the most difficult challenges I’ve ever faced. The weather was against us, the Met Office even issued a weather warning for heavy rain. But we had an excellent support team who kept us in good spirits, giving us food, hot drinks and dry clothes. It was an amazing feeling to reach the source of the River Ribble and we never expected to raise £5,000; the level of support was overwhelming”.

Mark said: “The training regime we undertook this year to prepare for the walk has really whipped us both into shape, the challenge now is to keep it up! I’m so pleased we’ve managed to raise so much money for two admirable charities, it’s made all our hard efforts worthwhile.”

Donations are still being accepted and can be made online at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Ribble or by texting RWAY26 £15 (or whatever amount you wish to donate) to 70070.