Oli Kay
Oli's fundraiser for The Darby Rimmer MND Foundation
Fundraising for The Darby Rimmer MND Foundation
Story
It's such a brutal disease. To be told you have a life expectancy of two to five years, it’s … it’s tough. You do know what's going to happen, but we didn't want to sit there and not do anything. It's important to keep looking forward and stay as positive as we can to try to make a difference."
In 2019 former Liverpool, Bradford City and Bolton Wanderers footballer Stephen Darby announced he had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.
MND is a neurological condition which causes the cells and nerves in the brain and spinal cord to degenerate, leading to severe deterioration and loss of function. There is no known cure.
On the weekend of March 22-24, I will be participating in "March of the Day" as part of a group walking from Bradford to Liverpool to raise funds for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation, the charity Stephen launched in 2019 with his friend Chris Rimmer.
As the crow flies, it's about 64 miles from Valley Parade to Anfield. But we're taking the scene route, traipsing all over West Yorkshire and the north-west, zig-zagging across the Pennine moors and visiting 17 football grounds en route.
In total, it's 178 miles across two-and-a-half days, with hundreds of walkers joining us at various points along the way. I won't be doing the full 178 miles (a physical impossibility for most people but particularly for someone who likes his sleep as much as I do) but we will all be covering an enormous distance over the two-and-a-half days in the hope of raising a lot of money for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.
Chris died in April 2022, but his legacy lives on with the charity. Former Bristol Rovers, Huddersfield, Ipswich, Sunderland, Bristol City, Yeovil and Exeter centre-forward Marcus Stewart, who was diagnosed with MND later that year, has taken the baton and joined Stephen in campaigning and fundraising for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation. Marcus's wife Louise is among the core team of walkers for March of the Day, as are Stephen's brother and father-in-law.
As well as funding and assisting research in the hope of finding a cure, the foundation offers financial assistance and creates support networks for those diagnosed with this horrible disease -- and their carers.
There are so many wonderful, important causes and initiatives on this site and I know this is a challenging financial climate, but any help you can give by way of sponsorship and publicity for this event will be hugely appreciated.
Many thanks
Oli
https://darbyrimmermnd.co.uk/march-of-the-day/
https://www.redwoodevents.co.uk/march-of-the-day/
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=350340861279918&id=100089120203384&mibextid=KsPBc6