Funds being raised for MND in our latest Walk For Pounds: Miles For Marcus
- Walk For Pounds: Miles For Marcus
- Event on Saturday 30 September 2023
- Four-year-old Noah walking in memory of his great uncle
With little over two weeks to go before our latest Walk For Pounds: Miles For Marcus, sponsored by Chadwick Lawrence, we caught up with one of our youngest confirmed participants, with four-year-old Noah taking on four miles with his Grandma!
Over 100 Terriers have confirmed their participation in Miles For Marcus – with time still available to sign up by CLICKING HERE – as we once again come together to raise funds for charity, with the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation set to benefit from all of the money raised.
Walking in support of Town great Marcus Stewart following his own MND diagnosis, each participant has their own motivations for taking part, with four-year-old Noah doing so in memory of his great uncle.
A big month for Noah with the walk coming at the end of his first month at school, his mother Karly spoke to htafc.com to share her son’s story and his desire to take part alongside his grandma as they cover four miles for charity.
“Noah never had the chance to meet his Great Uncle David, he passed back in 2018 around eight months before he was born” Karly tells us. “He wasn’t diagnosed with MND until really late on, only a few weeks before he passed away.”
“He was being treated for what they thought was myasthenia gravis, which is a bit like muscular dystrophy. He had been tested lots throughout the illness but it was only late on that they discovered it was MND – he’d lost a lot of weight, he was falling and he was having trouble swallowing.
“People are becoming so much more aware of MND now, so I think if you were to have any symptoms you’d be more confident bringing that up with your doctor. All the money that is being raised for MND now, including this Walk For Pounds, will help with that research into the disease, maybe allowing people to be diagnosed earlier and hopefully one day finding a cure.”
PICTURED ABOVE: NOAH'S GREAT UNCLE DAVID
One of our youngest participants, Noah’s story has already caught the attention of his fellow Terriers with his initial £50 sponsorship target smashed, with a secondary target of £250 already dwarfed by over £600 raised online!
“Noah is four-years-old so he’s just started school. He absolutely loves football, he goes to Kicks on a Saturday morning down at The Zone with the Huddersfield Town Foundation, and he’s obviously a massive Town fan too!” Karly continues.
“He’s been to a handful of games when he was younger, he’s been to Wembley in 2022 too, but this is his first season with a Season Card of his own. He calls it ‘Ooh To Be A’ rather than Town, so if you ask him who he supports he says ‘Ooh To Be A’!”
Blown away by the support shown by the Huddersfield Town family, both Karly and Noah are incredibly appreciative of the donations that have continued to pour in as they raise as much as possible for MND awareness and research.
“Noah thinks it’s amazing how many people have sponsored him, and we’ve been doing little videos to say thank you to the people we know who’ve donated. But it’s not just people we know, we’ve had random people sponsoring him too” she explains.
“Our original target was only £50 but we upped it to £250 when more money kept coming in, and when we were £5 short of that first goal a man we didn’t know sponsored saying that he didn’t know us, but he wanted Noah to reach his target!
“Steven Chicken from the Examiner has donated £25 too, there’s been lots of stories like that, with a few people giving money anonymously too. It’s great to see everyone clubbing together.
“We’ve been absolutely blown away by how much has been raised and the generosity of others. The hard work is yet to come with Noah with the walk, though!”
And how will young Noah handle the four-mile hike on Saturday 30 September?
“He’s got his Grandma with him and she won’t let him lag behind!” Karly laughs.
“He’ll be fine as long as he’s fuelled by sweets. My mum thinks it’s great for Noah to do and teach him that it’s good to do things for other people. We just want him to grow up as a lovely rounded little boy.
“She has a friend who’s wife passed away from MND as well, so that’s another motivation for her to want to take part as well – when you starting talking about it you suddenly realise there are more people than you’d think impacted by the disease.”
Surrounded by Town fans at home, Noah will also have Terriers close by in his new classroom.
“Noah has only done a week at school yet, so he hasn’t said anything to his new friends quite yet.
“He has a Huddersfield Town rucksack that his teacher noticed and commented on, so she’s a Town fan too, and I mentioned to her what he was doing and she said she’s going to have to sponsor him now as well!”
Everyone at the Club wants to wish Noah – and all of our Walk For Pounds participants – the best of luck for the upcoming Miles For Marcus!
Should you still wish to join us and take part, CLICK HERE, and if you’re able to, you can donate by CLICKING HERE!
