Press release – 27 August
Ahead of her 80th birthday, a fundraiser from near Cullompton is preparing to take on an epic challenge to raise funds for people around the world affected by disaster.
Delia Kennedy, from Devon, is lacing up her walking boots to cover 100 miles in a solo challenge for the international disaster relief charity, ShelterBox.
Delia says: “I love walking, especially at this time of year when the banks and verges of the canals are thick with bright wildflowers – a free delight that keeps me plodding along.
“Although this is a solo walk, I’ll be accompanied by my trusty companion, a little brown teddy bear named TTT who sits on top of my bag. I’ll spend the days chatting away to him whilst we take in the views of the local countryside, enjoying our usual midway cafe stop for a cup of tea and sometimes a big slice of cake… which of course we share.”
Delia will be setting off on her challenge on Monday 2 September and will stick to her local walking routes, covering between eight to ten miles a day. She hopes to raise £500 for the Westcountry-based charity.
ShelterBox supports people uprooted from their homes following disaster or conflict. By providing shelter aid, and things like blankets, water carriers and mosquito nets, it offers simple but essential items when people have been left with very little.
Recognising that no two disasters are the same, the charity doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach. It tailors its aid packages for each response using different types of shelter and different combinations of aid.
Delia continues: “ShelterBox is a charity close to my heart and having found myself in my 80th year I wanted to celebrate my many blessings by showing my support. It’s a marvellous organisation which does valuable and important work in so many of the trouble spots of our world.”
This is the second time Delia has raised funds for ShelterBox, having completed a similar challenge in 2023. Donations for this years’ fundraiser can be sent via Delia’s JustGiving page.
Fundraising assistant at ShelterBox, John Stanbury, says: “I was thrilled when I heard Delia and TTT were fundraising for us again this year. I’m so looking forward to hearing all about Delia’s days of walking in the regular updates and photos she sends through. They’re always so wonderfully descriptive that it feels as though I am walking with them.
“Without our incredible supporters, like Delia, we wouldn’t be able to continue to do our work around the world. We rely solely on public donations, so every penny raised, and every ShelterBox story shared makes a difference.”
A ShelterBox team has recently finished distributing aid in Grenada where thousands of homes have been left damaged and destroyed by Hurricane Beryl. By working alongside local communities and partners, ShelterBox has supported thousands of people with tents, solar lights, kitchen sets and mosquito nets.
As well as the Caribbean, thousands of people in Gaza are being supported with ShelterBox tents and aid via its work with local partners. The charity is also supporting people affected by monsoon flooding in Pakistan, extreme drought in Somalia and Ethiopia and people displaced by conflict in Syria and Burkina Faso.
For more information about ShelterBox visit: shelterbox.org.
ENDS
For more information contact the press office at ShelterBox via [email protected].
Notes to Editors
- Interviews available with ShelterBox’s John Stanbury and Delia Kennedy.
- Images and captions included.
