The Breaker found a Royal Marine from Plymouth who wants to make a difference by taking an extra mile. And when we say an extra mile, we meant a little more than a 100 miles!
Gone are the days when fundraisers meant organising bake sales or car washes, the young generation likes to take a completely different approach. Twenty-three-year-old James Rowland decided that he wanted to raise funds for the Cancer Research UK charity, so he simply put on his running shoes and set up a fundraising page. He also created a Facebook page called- ‘Run James Run’ inviting anyone and everyone to join his unconventional campaign.
The young Royal Marine plans on running 123 miles from Bournemouth to Plymouth. Not just that, he plans to finish his journey in merely six days. He targets to start his run from Bournemouth town square and charting out the route to Bridport and then Chudleigh, finishing his last leg of the adventure in his hometown Plymouth.
When asked what motivated him to do the fundraiser, he said: “I sort of have this big passion to help people, really, even if I don’t have someone in my family that suffers from cancer. But, there are a lot more people who need help and if I can, then I am going to help them.” He has started preparing for his run by ‘running as much’ as he can every day as the date for the run edges closer.
Last year he did a boxing charitable event where he managed to raise 300 pounds. He wanted to take on a new challenge and was hoping that this event will bring in more funds for the charity. His motive to run the miles is also to get more to ‘people to join in and spread the word about the charity’ as much as possible. “As much as this is about Cancer Research, it is also about bringing the people together that everyone can support”, he said.
The youngster’s charitable motive didn’t go unnoticed by the charity. Charlie Hawker the fundraising manager from Bournemouth said: “Cancer Research UK receives no funding so we rely heavily on supporters and volunteers like James doing fundraising events so we can do the research that we are doing in the labs and getting that research to bedsides.” She adds that it is extremely vital to have people like James doing these amazing challenges.
He hopes to inspire young people and said: “Just look around you at the people and see how you can help them in any way you can.”
